Jaw-break punch thug spared custody after last-orders attack outside Leeds pub
A thug who blindsided a man outside a pub with a punch that broke his jaw in two places has been spared immediate custody.
Lee Eaton struck the man at closing time at the Hope Inn near Leeds city centre.
Eaton was handed a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court, but the judge told him he had come within a “hair’s breadth” of going to prison.
The court was told that the victim had been in the York Road pub at 11.30pm on June 16, 2023.
A garden table collapsed and beer was spilt, with the man being asked to leave the premises.
At around midnight, drinkers were leaving the closing pub but the man was still loitering around outside.
He later said he just remembered being on the floor and having to pick himself up after being “snipered”.
Witnesses said 46-year-old Eaton had left the pub and approached the man and struck him once to the face. The men did not know each other.
The man suffered a double fracture, one to either side of his jaw. A tooth was loose and he was put on a six-week soft diet, prosecutor Thomas Theakston said.
Eaton, of Beckhill Avenue, Chapel Allerton, was arrested but twice gave a no-comment interview to police.
He has four previous convictions, including for ABH. He admitted Section 20 GBH without intent.
Mitigating, Craig Sutcliffe said that the victim had been insulting towards females in the pub that night, leading to Eaton’s sudden bout of violence.
No other mitigation was offered after Judge Mairs said he would not lock the father-of-six up.
Judge Mairs told Eaton: “You have come within a hair’s breadth of custody.
“You effectively blindsided him. Normally, you would be straight through that door behind you and off to Armley [prison], but in the circumstances, in your case I can just about avoid that.
“There was no need for it. That kind of random violence often results in an immediate custodial sentence.”
He gave him a 20-month sentence, suspended for 24 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation days to complete.