Jailed: Boxers who left barman unable to speak or eat after unprovoked Cannock attack
Two drunken amateur boxers have been jailed for an unprovoked attack on a barman that left him fighting for his life.
Joshua Morgan fell unconscious to the floor and fractured his skull after being punched twice by James Robb, who then – along with co-accused Alistair Douglas – dragged the victim across a car park at the back of Poundland in Cannock town centre.
In the aftermath of the attack, Mr Morgan was left in a coma, and months later could only communicate by eye movements.
He is now limited to moving his head and forearms and can only attempt to pronounce single words, Stafford Crown Court heard.
Robb punched Mr Morgan with such force to make him unable to break his fall, said Mr James Dunstan, prosecuting.
Douglas did not actually strike the victim, but accepted he was there to assist Robb.
Robb, aged 23, of Langdale Green, Cannock, was jailed for three years and Douglas, aged 26, of Longford Road, Cannock, got 27 months. Both admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Morgan.
Both will only serve half of their sentences, and Robb has already served 330 days on remand so is expected to be released in nine months, while Douglas has served 327 days so would be out in around two months.
Judge Jonathan Gosling told them the attack had destroyed Mr Morgan's life at the age of just 20.
He said: "These defendants behaved in a drunken and loutish way. Joshua, I am sure, did nothing to provoke either of them. He was known to be mild mannered and gentle young man who shied away from confrontation of any sort."
The judge said Joshua 'had the misfortune to meet these two defendants'. When they were seen dragging Mr Morgan, Robb lied to a woman passing by and repeated his lies to paramedics, changing his story to self defence after being arrested.
The judge said: "No doubt he thought he would get away with his story and he stood by it for many months."
The court heard Mr Morgan has finished his shift at the Shoal Hill Tavern on March 9 last year and had gone out with friends during the evening.
He was not drunk and his mood was placid even when turned away from entering Silks nightclub. He walked away from the club on his own and across the car park behind the Poundland store.
Mr Dunstan said there was no CCTV or independent witness evidence as to what happened on that car park. Robb accepted he had delivered two punches in quick succession.
"As a result of those two punches, he struck his head on the ground. It was the fall that occasioned the most severe of the injuries."
Mr Morgan had a fractured skull, swelling and bleeding to the brain.
A passer-by saw him being dragged across the car park and Douglas was heard to shout 'what are we going to do?' One of them was slapping Joshua to his face trying to bring him round.
The court heard "when she spoke to them, one of them said they had just found Joshua there."
Douglas ran off but Robb stayed until paramedics arrived although he carried on with his lie about finding the victim. Robb was arrested the next day and made up another lie: "I was on my way home when this guy approached me. I hit him on the chin before he had a chance to hit me".
Extracts from the victim impact statement of Joshua's mother, Claire Simpson were read to the court. In it she said the family was living in constant fear that Joshua might die. When they saw him after the attack he was 'unrecognisable', she was 'haunted by the image and still has nightmares about it'.
And she said he has 'had to fight for his life several times' and added: "I feel like there's no end in sight."
Judge Gosling said both defendants were 'keen boxers' and quoted from a reference provided by their boxing coach who said 'both of them behaved impeccably and were no trouble at all'.
He added: "Joshua's prognosis is desperately poor. His life has been destroyed. He is entirely dependent on round the clock care, he cannot speak, he cannot eat, his movement is extremely restricted, he lives in fear of complications and infections."
The court heard that Robb and Douglas had initially been charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, but after careful consideration of the evidence the prosecution had preferred a lesser charge with a maximum penalty of five years jail.
Mr Graham Henson, defending, said both defendants had shown genuine remorse and Robb had no history of violence.
