A man suffered a fractured eye socket after being set upon by a half-naked attacker hiding in an alleyway, a court has heard. A topless Ryan Thomas repeatedly punched his victim in the face as the man walked home from the shop before running off.
Thomas is currently serving an extended prison sentence as a dangerous offender after bursting into a man's house and bludgeoning him about the head with a pickaxe handle leaving him with bleeding on the brain. Swansea Crown Court heard the 30-year-old defendant is making "good progress" in prison and wants to start his own industrial cleaning business when he is released from custody.
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Craig Jones, prosecuting, said the incident happened in the village of Croeserw in June 2021 as the victim, Randall Whitlock, walked home from the corner shop. He said as Mr Whitlock walked down an alley known locally as "the gully", a shirtless Thomas appeared from behind a wooden fence and repeatedly punched him in the face before running off. The barrister said the two men were known to each other, and there was "bad feeling" between them. The victim subsequently went to hospital suffering with a bruised and swollen face and a bloodshot eye, and doctors found he had a fractured eye socket.
Ryan Lee Thomas, of Dwyfor Road, Croeserw, Cymmer, Port Talbot, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm when he appeared in the dock. He has 15 previous convictions for 20 offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, public order matters, burglary, battery, sending malicious communications, and possession of cannabis. In April 2022 he was sentenced to 27 months in prison for robbery after flying into a rage in a corner shop when a 73-year-old man refused to give him a can of lager. In April last year he was given an extended six-year sentence as a dangerous offender after forcing his way into a man's flat and bludgeoning him with a pickaxe handle leaving his victim with a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, multiple gashes to the head, and four large areas of the scalp which were "completely skinned". The lacerations needed a total of 52 staples to close them.
Robin Rouch, for Thomas, said the defendant had been making good progress in prison while serving his extended sentence and now has a trusted job working in the staff dining room. He said his client had taken a qualification in industrial cleaning and hopes to set up his own business when he is released from custody. The barrister said the earliest point at which Thomas can apply for release from his current sentence is August 2025 but it will be for the Parole Board to determine if he is safe to be released.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said it was clear from what he had heard and read that there was "bad blood" between Thomas and Mr Whitlock, and he said in June 2021 the defendant had punched his victim with such force that he had fractured his eye socket. The judge said the assault pre-dated both the robbery on the pensioner and the pickaxe handle attack which Thomas had already been sentenced for, and he called the delay in the case coming to court "wholly unacceptable".
The judge said his hands were tied in passing sentence as he could not lawfully pass a determinate sentence which was consecutive to the extended sentence the defendant was currently serving. With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Thomas was sentenced to six months in prison, a sentence which will begin immediately. The defendant was also made the subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting Mr Whitlock for the next five years.
Judge Thomas said he had read of the "impressive efforts" to change his life which Thomas had made while in prison, and he said he hoped for Thomas' sake - and the sake of those who love him - that the progress continues in the future.
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