One punch 'demolished' Yate teenager

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Tuesday, April 07, 2009
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This is Bristol

A man who "completely demolished" a teenager with a single blow outside a Yate snooker hall celebrated afterwards in the style of a football goalscorer, a court heard.

Richard Frankom was handed a suspended jail term by Bristol Crown Court for the attack, and also ordered to wear an electronic tag.

Hoodie-wearing Frankom came up behind 18-year-old Luke Eastment and bashed him hard in the face, knocking him to the ground, the court was told on Monday.

Frankom, aged 21, of Bradley Avenue, in Winterbourne, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Imposing a nine-month jail term, suspended for two years, Judge Simon Darwall-Smith told him: "This was a disgraceful incident. It was drink-instigated, both your behaviour at the time and afterwards. You obviously hit this man very hard."

The judge handed Frankom 12 months of supervision by a probation officer and ordered him to observe a six-month curfew in which he must stay at home on an electronic tag between 8pm and 4am.

Frankom was told to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work and told to pay his victim £500 compensation.

Julian Howells, prosecuting, said car salesman Mr Eastment was outside Riley's snooker hall in Yate and the next thing he remembered was waking up hurt.

Mr Howells said: "The defendant had some conversation with him or his group, there was no malice and the defendant walked away. He was wearing a grey hoodie.

"The defendant and another man walked up to Mr Eastment from his blind side and the defendant threw a single punch which completely demolished him.

"The defendant meandered off, holding his arms out like an aeroplane."

The court was told Mr Eastment suffered extensive damage to his mouth, which included the loss of a bridge, a lost tooth and another tooth loosened, which necessitated expensive dental work.

Jennifer Tallentire, defending, said her client had good experience of the building trade and the offer of a full-time job.

She told the court: "It was a very unpleasant incident and he is rightly ashamed when he sees it on DVD.

"He is absolutely appalled he could behave in that way. He's not a violent young man."

The court heard Frankom had gone through a difficult time when his parents divorced and he had got into trouble at school for setting off a fire extinguisher.

Ms Tallentire said: "He's very ashamed and he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity."

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11 Comments

  • Profile image for This is Bristol

    by luke bristol, BRISTOL

    Monday, October 05 2009, 1:45PM

    “funny how he blamed it on having a bad divourse from his parents im the victim and i was beat when i was a child and had a real herd time when my perents got devoursed but you see me going out on the weekend noking people out and to top that he still hasent manage to pay me my compensation and the courts dont seem to do any thing about wht a great criminal justice system !”

  • Profile image for This is Bristol

    by Owen, North Bristol

    Friday, May 01 2009, 9:13AM

    “He may wellbe scum for this atrocity, but he may well have a natural talent that could be taken advantage of.

    This sort of youth, having demonstrated a punch to match anything ever produced by Chris Eubankshouldbe forcibly enrolled in a boxing academy upon completion of,or as part of, his sentence.

    Any 'purses' he may win as a professional should go to the state after paying him a fair wage.”

  • Profile image for This is Bristol

    by bristol bird, bristol

    Friday, May 01 2009, 7:43AM

    “They should send scum like this into the army if they dont send them to prison, our judicial system is an absolute joke, as someone rightly said, if you dont pay your council tax they will bang you up for that, yet some scum bag who has nothing to offer to society is allowed to walk the streets. The 21 year old "hoodie" has been offered a full time job as well, maybe his future boss ought to rethink who he takes on for staff!”

  • Profile image for This is Bristol

    by Chris, Bristol

    Tuesday, April 07 2009, 5:25PM

    “"Society made me do it".
    "Right then, let him go and let's go arrest society"

    Thanks to M Python”

  • Profile image for This is Bristol

    by kevin, saff bristol

    Tuesday, April 07 2009, 5:21PM

    “these defence lawyers and judges are an absolute joke . what can we do to get rid of these people from our inept judicial system ? you hear the same crap every single day”

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