2001: MAN JAILED FOR BOTTLE ATTACK
A violent painter and decorator who assaulted his girlfriend using a guitar and a bottle has received a sentence of four and a half years in prison.Sean Hewitt was convicted by a jury at Worcester Crown Court of attempted robbery through assault after a four-day trial.
The court heard that Hewitt believed his partner, Victoria Downing, was involved with another man, prompting him to wait outside her residence in Tardebigge for her return.
During the incident, he struck her on the head with a guitar, inflicted a cut to her head by throwing a bottle, and stole money along with her BMW vehicle, according to prosecutor Darron Whitehead.
Mr Justice Hughes remarked that the attack was particularly violent, occurring inside her own home at night, and was connected to a deteriorating relationship that had not been formally ended.
Addressing Hewitt, aged 34 and from Bordesley Green East in Birmingham, the judge stated that Hewitt had not acknowledged his actions or spared Victoria the distress of giving evidence in cross-examination.
Hewitt had previously served three years in prison in 1989 after pushing a bottle into a man’s face, causing facial, eye injuries, and a broken nose.
Additionally, five years later, he was convicted of assaulting a man behind a pub alongside five accomplices.
The court was told that Miss Downing suffered head cuts and bruised legs during the assault, which occurred at the end of a tumultuous relationship.
Hewitt had also vandalized her home and brandished a knife to threaten her.
The stolen BMW was later located with approximately £200 worth of damage.
Defense lawyer Karl Metzger described Hewitt as "an extremely jealous individual" who was provoked when he suspected Miss Downing was seeing someone else.
Hewitt was currently undergoing anger management treatment at Gloucester Prison, where he was serving time.
However, he continued to deny responsibility for the injuries and had been acquitted of a second charge involving threats to kill.
Mr Metzger argued that Hewitt had been subjected to severe provocation that night, but the judge dismissed this, noting that Hewitt’s own actions, including the use of weapons, showed he was out of control.
The judge also questioned whether Hewitt was under the influence of illegal substances at the time.
