[A] MAN convicted of breaking his friend’s jaw in two places in a single-punch attack has been spared immediate prison.
Victim Dean Greenhalgh was knocked briefly unconscious after Ritchie Townsend launched what a Carlisle Crown Court jury heard had been an “unprovoked” attack.
Townsend, 24, was seen to spin Mr Greenhalgh around before “uppercutting” him square in the jaw and lifting him off his feet inside a Workington flat on July 28 last year.
Mr Greenhalgh had plates fitted to is jaw in hospital, and later stated the attack left him anxious and suffering from flashbacks.
After a trial last month, Townsend was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm. He accepted he caused an “unforgivable” injury but insisted he acted instinctively and in self-defence.
Townsend was sentenced at the crown court today (TUES). An 18-month prison term was suspended for two years by Judge Tony Lancaster. He heard the father-to-be, of Newlands Gardens, Workington, was “gradually maturing” and would benefit from one-to-one help in the community.
Townsend was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation requirement and a six-month night-time curfew.
