Jason Ranford has been jailed after seriously assaulting a man at a Christmas party.
The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of actual bodily harm before magistrates on 29 December last year and the case was committed to Swindon Crown Court for sentencing.
He appeared before Recorder David Chidgey from HM Prison Bullingdon this morning (2 February) sporting a grey Ralph Lauren polo shirt.
Tom Wright, prosecuting, told of how Ranford launched a glass at his victim at close range – from approximately one metre away – two days before Christmas Day, on 23 December.
Gareth Bridges suffered what was described as a “nasty” cut to the back of his head in the attack at a hotel bar in Swindon.
The pair were known to each other through a working relationship, but when Mr Bridges was provoked to fight and did not take the bait, intoxicated Ranford assaulted him by throwing the glass.
The incident put him in breach of a suspended sentence order imposed at Central London Magistrates’ Court in April 2021 for assaulting a taxi driver, aged in his 60s.
Emma Handslip, defending, said his crime was in the “heat of the moment” and was a “moment of madness which has had catastrophic consequences for others.”
She told of how his imprisonment would have “severe consequences” on 13 people employed by his business, which is currently “limping along” and cannot continue without Mr Ranford.
Ms Handslip urged Recorder Chidgey to follow the recommendations of the pre-sentence report, which was a suspended sentence.
But deeming the assault too serious for anything other than immediate custody, he imposed a 38-week prison sentence.
Recorder Chidgey said the defendant’s “desire to have it out with the victim” came before the safety of everybody in that room.
“The glass could have hit somebody else, very serious injuries could have been caused to a bystander”, he said.
He added that Ranford’s actions showed a “high degree of selfishness”, and said the incident has had an “unpleasant effect on Mr Bridges”, who “did nothing to deserve it”.
