A drug dealer asked "is that all?" after being jailed for breaking a man's jaw during a "straightener" at a pub.
James Ashton repeatedly punched a man in the face and threw a chair at him after a dispute arose between the two over an alleged stolen sum of money.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Monday, that victim Kane Rimmer had accused the 33-year-old of stealing a sum of money from him. But the defendant denied these accusations and the two "agreed to have a straightener to sort out the dispute".
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Derek Jones, prosecuting, described how Mr Rimmer was already present in the Lodge pub on Lark Lane in Aigburth when Ashton, of no fixed address, arrived on November 23 2021. But, "as soon as he saw him", the thug punched him to the side of the face "with force" then threw a wooden chair at him before raining down more blows.
The complainant ran away after suffering a fractured right cheekbone in the attack, but later made a "good recovery". Ashton was arrested on January 19 last year in connection with the incident, but made no comment under interview.
He has 20 previous convictions for 49 offences, with his record also including counts of robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The court heard that there was "limited if any personal mitigation", although Damian Nolan, defending, pointed to a delay in proceedings after two previous sentencing hearings were adjourned.
Ashton, who appeared via video link to HMP Altcourse, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was imprisoned for seven months by Judge Gary Woodhall. After learning his sentence, he was heard to say: "Is that all?
"Nice one Mr Nolan. Thank you."
Ashton's latest term will be served consecutively to a seven-and-a-half year stretch he received at Bristol Crown Court in October last year. It came after he was arrested in 2018 following a joint operation between Gloucestershire Police and Merseyside Police, which led to the seizure of a shortened shotgun inside a vehicle in Liverpool.
But, after being released on bail, he went on the run for another two years. Ashton eventually was picked up after officers from Avon and Somerset Police stopped a suspicious vehicle in which he was a passenger in Weston-super-Mare in March 2020.
On that occasion, police found him in possession of cannabis, more than £1,000 in cash and the key for a Mini which had been stolen from the Merseyside area. This vehicle was later recovered with a taser covered with his fingerprints inside.
Analysis of a phone found in his possession revealed multiple text messages relating to drug dealing. Ashton admitted six offences - including being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, possession of a shotgun and possession of a taser as well as breaching bail.
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