Walsall man jailed for breaking woman's collarbone over a joke in Wolverhampton
A woman suffered broken collarbones after being punched by a man during night out in Wolverhampton on Christmas Eve almost three years ago.
The victim was enjoying a night out in Wolverhampton city centre with a companion on December 24, 2022 when they were confronted by defendant Darren Quilt over a comment made in jest about the appearance of a male's midriff.
Quilt, aged 29, of Bloxwich, was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday after admitting an offence of wounding after he hit the woman who fell to the ground during the incident.
Mr Jonathan Dickinson, prosecuting, said: "At approximately 3am on Christmas Eve in 2022 the victim and her male companion were approached by two men one of whom was Darren Quilt. One of the men was wearing a grey jacket and the a joke was made about him looking pregnant due to the appearance of his stomach. They were joking together and as far as the victim was concerned everything was all right.
"Moments later the defendant approached them and became abusive towards the male who was with the victim. She tried to intervene by stepping in between them.
"Quilt punched the victim to the righthand side of her face resulting in her hitting the ground hard on her left shoulder and suffering two broken collarbones.
A passing police officer came across the incident and arrested Quilt who was heavily intoxicated. When he was taken to then police station he didn't at first co-operate and gave the wrong details. It was then discovered that the reason he gave the officers the wrong name was because he was subject to bail conditions for other matters.
"Those conditions were that he stay at his home address in Walsall from 7am-7pm."
Judge Robert Talog Davies heard that at first Quilt denied the offence, but changed to a guilty plea ahead of the trial in June this year.
In her impact statement the victim said as a result of the incident she "no longer" felt safe going out at night and had lost income due to not being able to work while her injuries healed.
In mitigation, Mrs Megan Fletcher-Smith defending, said Quilt was "remorseful and ashamed" wanted to apologise to the court for his late guilty plea.
The judge sentenced Quilt, of Mulberry Road, Dudley Fields, to 13 months imprisonment for the latest offence. He must serve at least half before being released on licence.
An offence of array relating to the December 24 matter was allowed to lie on file.
The court heard he was jailed in January for his role in a conspiracy to steal motor vehicles. That case related to 43 thefts and attempted thefts of vehicles across Staffordshire, the West Midlands and Derbyshire between 2022 and 2023, worth an estimated £1.1 million.
