'Revenge attack' on alleged drug dealer outside Leyland school sees two men jailed | Preston Crown Court
Preston Crown Court hears how a ‘revenge attack’ outside a Leyland school led to prison for two local men.
Two men who carried out a “revenge” attack on an alleged drug dealer at the gates of a Leyland school have been sent to prison by a judge.
Aiden Dewhurst and Anthony Jump, who both lived in the street outside Worden Academy, were said to have confronted the man as he sat in his car and chased him into the school car park.
He was left covered in blood from head wounds. But Preston Crown Court heard it could not be established who had inflicted his injuries or whether they had been caused by a metal bar found near the scene.
Dewhurst, 29, of Westfield Drive, Leyland was jailed for a total of 13 months after pleading guilty to affray and possessing an offensive weapon. His co-accused Jump, 47, also of Westfield Drive, was sent down for 11 months after admitting affray.
Prosecution barrister Megan Tollitt told the court a woman in the car park of Worden Academy heard a man shouting and saw Jump standing by the driver’s window of a black Toyota Yaris with his arm inside the car. The vehicle was rocking and he was heard shouting to the driver: “Get out.”
Dewhurst then approached the car carrying something in his hand. She panicked and ran into the school to phone the police.
It was said in court that it was difficult to see on CCTV what happened next. But the woman saw the driver get out of the car and run down the road pursued by Dewhurst. He was then chased into the school car park.
Another witness claimed she had seen Dewhurst striking the bonnet of the car with a silver object around 30 centimetres long which she thought could have been a crowbar.
Police arrested both men shortly afterwards at Jump’s home address. The keys to the Yaris were found in a jacket pocket at the house.
When they were in transit to the police station one told officers they had been “robbing a drug dealer”. But in formal interviews later they both gave “no comment” answers to all questions.
Dewhurst’s defence lawyer Daniel Harman said his client had spent years addicted to drugs, but since being held on remand in prison for the past five months he had been “doing very well”. He said that if he was held in custody for another month he would automatically lose his housing association accommodation.
Jump’s lawyer said her client had had problems with alcohol but had cut down on his consumption and had not been in trouble with the courts for the past six years.
Judge Robert Altham, the Honorary Recorder of Preston, said the actions of the men that morning had caused alarm to two women witnesses, although it was not thought to have been seen by any children or school staff.
He said the driver of the car had suffered some “unpleasant” injuries but had not provided a victim impact statement in the case. A metal bar had been recovered from near to the scene.
“This was an unpleasant, co-ordinated, sustained attack . . . using threats and the use of a weapon in some sort of revenge (attack) or grievance towards a drug dealer,” he told the two men. “Witnesses were fearful of what they saw.”
He added that the offences committed that day were too serious to hand out suspended prison sentences.
“I am satisfied that the affray was the targeting of a man by the two of you. It involved serious street violence in response to some form of revenge or some kind of drug-related matter.”
He told them that street violence of this kind could only be adequately punished by immediate prison sentences.