Jayden Swift, 19, has been jailed for four years and one month after a cocaine-fuelled attack in Barnsley town centre left a man unconscious, with CCTV showing him celebrating over the victim's body.
Sheffield Crown Court heard that on January 11, Swift, then aged 18, punched a man in Barnsley town centre in South Yorkshire after a night of drinking and taking drugs such as cocaine.
Unprovoked attack caught on CCTV
The victim had tried to come to the aid of another man whom Swift had 'punched 20 times' and left unconscious just moments before. CCTV footage showed Swift exchanging punches with the second man before hitting him in the back of the head.
After the victim collapsed, Swift kicked him in the head before raising his arms in celebration and pointing at him. As he attempted to leave, Swift kicked the man in the head once more before a male police officer arrested him after onlookers called emergency services during the incident.
Court hears of 'unprovoked, senseless and serious' attack
The court heard that the incident unfolded after Swift had a brief conversation with the first victim before launching into what the judge, Recorder Jeremy Hill Baker, called an 'unprovoked, senseless and serious' attack.
Recorder Hill-Baker said about the first attack: 'That he did not suffer life-changing injuries or lose his life is frankly astonishing.'
Prosecutor Stephanie Hollis told the court during a sentencing hearing on September 30 that the first complainant suffered injuries to his head, and above his eye and temple along with a blackened eye. The second complainant attended at Barnsley General Hospital and was found to have suffered bruising to his left eye and scalp, along with grazing to the left side of his head.
Sentencing and restraining order
Swift, of Darfield, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. He was jailed for four years and one month and given a 10-year restraining order protecting both victims. He was also ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.
Jailing Swift, Recorder Hill-Baker told him: 'You punched him repeatedly, you knocked him unconscious. You then – as the CCTV shows – kicked him to the head with some force. And again you appear jubilant…you returned to kick him in the head again.'
