A “young, dumb and hot-headed” Swindon man left his victim with a brain injury in an attack.
22-year-old Connor Carter knocked Sebastian Brzowski unconscious with one punch in Wood Street, Old Town, in the early hours of 3 September last year.
The defendant, of Pasterur Drive, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and appeared at Swindon Crown Court on 28 November for sentence.
Prosecutor Alex Daymond said that the victim woke up in hospital – hours after going out for food and drink with friends, with no recollection of how he arrived there.
Witnesses saw drunk Carter punch a man in the head, knocking him out. Door staff from nearby clubs and other members of the public detained the defendant – who had started running away.
In hospital, scans revealed that Mr Brzowski sustained a haematoma on the brain; he also required stitches above his eye. Months after the assault, he was still suffering with pain and struggling to sleep.
“I don’t know why this happened to me”, he said. Adding that the incident has had an impact on his family, with his child upset when they saw his injuries.
Mr Daymond said that Carter has five convictions for 14 offences – including possession of a firearm in 2018, possession of an offensive weapon in 2019 and a serious assault in 2020. He previously served at least two prison sentences for his crimes.
Alistair Hegarty, defending, said his client “wants to do all he can to make things right” and wishes to pay compensation to Mr Brzowski.
He said that Carter has recently secured a job: “He is very concerned about losing his employment and going back to square one.”
Mr Hegarty added: “He has since the [CCTV] and is genuinely very sorry for what he did that night and very angry about the way he behaved.”
He told Judge Tait that the defendant – who he described as previous being “young, dumb and hot headed” – is “a far cry from where he was 15 months ago.”
The judge said: “This was a nasty unprovoked attack and looking at your record you are a fairly persistent offender as far as public disorder is concerned.
“It is clear that you are significantly under the influence of alcohol and that is an aggravating feature.
“When I first looked at this case yesterday, I had really concluded that immediate imprisonment would be appropriate.”
However, taking into account the steps Carter has made to move forward with this life and move away from crime, he imposed a sentence of 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years.
Judge Tait also told him to pay £1,000 to his victim and £425 court costs.
He concluded: “You are walking on eggshells for the next two years…”
