A man who hit a pedestrian with his car and left him fighting for his life over a row has been jailed for 16 years. Jake Johnson-Atcherley, 21, was involved in a verbal altercation with a woman who was out walking her dog.
He then drove his vehicle, carrying three passengers, in a loop, before driving the car directly at the woman dog walker’s partner Antony Ford. Antony was thrown into the air on impact resulting in a broken spine, severe breaks to his legs and arm and a large laceration to his head, among other injuries.
Johnson-Atcherley drove off at speed with a shattered windscreen and damage to his vehicle, leaving Antony Ford in a critical condition. Antony, who received first aid from members of the public, was airlifted to Southmead Hospital where he was stabilised.
He continues to recover following the incident on Station Road, Devizes, Wilts., on 27 July 2022, and is working hard with his ongoing rehabilitation. Johnson-Atcherley, of Watson Close, Upavon, was sentenced to 16 years in prison at Winchester Crown Court for assault causing grievous bodily harm.
The court heard that in an attempt to evade police, Johnson-Atcherley hid at a friend’s house overnight, but was arrested the following day. He was charged and remanded, but released from court the following day.
Johnson-Atcherley committed the offence whilst under investigation for an assault at The Kebab House in Devizes, Wilts., where he punched a man multiple times in the face, wrongly believing he had insulted a friend. The victim suffered a dislocated arm and a severe break to his jaw.
In March this year, whilst on bail for the Station Road incident, Johnson-Atcherley arranged to meet a friend in Marlborough where he enticed him out of sight of CCTV cameras and punched him repeatedly to the face over a £20 debt. Johnson-Atcherley was also sentenced to eight months for a second count of assault causing grievous bodily harm, to run concurrently, and four months for assault causing actual bodily harm, to also run concurrently.
Det Con Simon Rogers said: “Johnson-Atcherley is an extremely violent offender who has shown absolutely no remorse for his actions. In deliberately driving his vehicle at his victim, he left him with life changing injuries.
“The victim has shown incredible braveness and determination to initially survive the attack and to continue with his rehabilitation, nearly a year on from the incident. In the moments immediately after this incident, several members of the public were quick to provide the man with first aid in the most traumatic of circumstances until paramedics arrived on scene and he was airlifted to hospital.
"Their quick-thinking inevitably saved his life. All three of these incidents were incredibly frightening for the victims and I would like to thank them, and the witnesses, for their support with our enquiries to speak up and ensure this violent offender could be put before the courts.”
A second man involved in the kebab house assault - Eddy Hitchcox, 21, previously of Pans Lane, Devizes - was sentenced to a two-year community order, 45 days rehabilitation, 150 hours of unpaid work and charged £1,000 to pay to his victim after pleading guilty for his involvement.
