Trio jailed for "Wild West' brawl

2:52pm Wednesday 14th January 2009

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A 22-YEAR-OLD involved in a ‘Wild West’ style drunken brawl at a kebab shop two weeks after being released from prison is back behind bars.

Steven Robins was among a group of thugs who launched the unprovoked attack at the Acropolis takeaway in Church Street, Melksham, last September.

Robins, of Paddock Rise, Sandford in north Somerset, along with 19-year-old Julian Drew and David Caven, also 22 and both of Philip Close, Melksham, were involved in the incident which left one member of staff needing 13 stitches. They all admitted affray and were jailed yesterday.

A judge at Swindon Crown Court heard how the front window of the store was also smashed as was the windscreen of a nearby car in what was ‘almost like a wild west bar room brawl’ about just before midnight on September 14.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said a girl, who was with a group of about five men, went into the kebab shop and asked for a free lollipop. When she was refused staff were met with a torrent of racial abuse.

Mr Meeke said the group returned 45 minutes later, some armed with pieces of wood.

During the violence Caven had a piece of wood and used it to strike a worker at the kebab shop. He was then felled with a wooden implement used for removing pizzas and detained.

Robins picked up half a pool cue from the ground and used it in the melee as well as landing a number of punches on people.

Drew had arrived wielding a length of wood which he used to lash out at takeaway workers before also being detained.

Virginia Cornwell, for Robins, said her client had only been out of prison for two weeks for another act of violence. As a consequence she said he was serving an extended licence and would be in custody until 2010.

Alex Daymond, for Drew, said his client accepted wielding a stick but had received a beating as he was detained by takeaway staff.

He said he had spent four months in custody on remand and had reflected on where his life was going.

Chris Smyth, for Caven, said his client had not caused any injury to anyone or any damage but was part of the group causing the trouble and suffered a head injury as a result.

“It appears that the staff at this restaurant effectively got the better of this group,” he said.

Judge Mark Horton said: “You three were all involved in a piece of motiveless mob violence committed in a public place against a vulnerable group of people running their own small business.”

He jailed Robins and Drew for 13 months and Caven for 11 months reflecting the fact that he had spent four months on curfew awaiting sentence.