Six year sentence for grieving father who thought girlfriend was cheating on him (From Bournemouth Echo)

Six year sentence for grieving father who thought girlfriend was cheating on him

9:04am Thursday 21st March 2013 in News

A GRIEVING father has been jailed for six years after attacking a man he mistakenly believed to be having a relationship with his girlfriend.

Benjamin William Jones, of Hamilton Road, Bournemouth, attacked James Foy after coming home to find him with his partner on the sofa and was stopped when the police arrived.

Anne Brown, prosecuting, said the offence breached a suspended sentence for burglary.

Robert Griffiths, defending, said the 29-year-old came home on October 15 last year believing he “saw something going on”.

He reminded the judge of the prosecution’s account that Mr Foy and Jones’s girlfriend had been asleep on the sofa.

Mr Griffiths said Jones had fallen back into drug use after the death of their child.

Jones was convicted during a trial of wounding Mr Foy with intent and received 5 years for that offence.

Judge Peter Johnson added another year by activating a suspended sentence for burglary and a one month sentence will run at the same time for breaching a community order that he was given for drink-driving.

The judge said to Jones: “You returned home under the influence of drink and drugs.

“Your partner, who had recently lost your child, was present downstairs with Mr Foy and quite simply you lost your temper.

“I accept to a certain extent you misread the situation and you launched a sustained and savage attack on Mr Foy and mercifully his injuries were not as bad as they would’ve been had the police not caught you in the act.

“He suffered serious injuries with cuts and bruises and a suspected fractured cheek bone.”