‘You spanked my brother!’
This was the bizarre cry of an Oldham man who armed himself with pool cues and a rolling pin who tried to gouge out the eyes of a pub landlord.
He was jailed for nine years yesterday.
Aaron Nuttall, 33, of Cherry Avenue, Oldham, broke into the Dog and Partridge pub on Constantine Street, Oldham, at around 9.30am on October 15 2012.
The landlord went downstairs in his dressing gown and was confronted by Nuttall who was angrily wielding a pool cue in each hand, which he drove into the chest of the landlord.
Nuttall approached him and shouted: “You spanked my brother; my brother was here last night and you spanked him.”
Witnesses later said that there was no such incident the previous night, which had been quiet.
The landlord managed to push Nuttall into the kitchen when he dropped the cues but then began hitting him.
He tried to hold onto Nuttall until the police arrived but as the pair fell to the floor Nuttall bit his inner thigh which caused him to let go.
Nuttall then reached towards a rack of knifes, shouting: “I’m going to fucking stab you.”
Armed with a rolling pin, he hit the landlord’s right shoulder and was again wrestled to the floor.
Nuttall grabbed him around the throat and used his thumbs to try to gouge out his eyes.
While the landlord was left unable to see properly Nuttall took the chance to grab his bag and escape through the broken window which he’d entered.
Paul Dockery, prosecuting, said: “The landlord has spoken of the psychological impact which has been continuing.
“The event has affected his life, his persona, and his ability to do his job. It has affected his whole life, as well as that of his partner.”
This burglary took place just an hour after Nuttall had burgled the home of a 93-year-old woman and her 65-year-old daughter.
Nuttall entered the property on Shrewsbury Street at around 8.30am with another man.
While his armed accomplice forced the younger woman to the floor of the flat at knifepoint, Nuttall watched as the other man went upstairs and rifled through the drawers at the side of the older woman’s bed.
As the younger woman went to reach for her phone Nuttall snatched it away from her while concealing his face.
She managed to run out of the front door and raise the alarm, but before the police arrived the pair escaped down a nearby alleyway.
Judge B Lever said: “You are in your early thirties and you have pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity to a very ugly and serious burglary where you entered a public house premises when the landlord and his partner were upstairs asleep in bed.
“You armed yourself with pool cues and exacted the threat of violence and actual violence upon him.
“You have an unattractive record of violence but noting in this grave league of the offences I am dealing with today. I find that you are dangerous and I make that final.”
Judge B Lever added: “If you commit any breach of license in those three years you can be locked up, let that be a severe warning to you.
“If you so much as put a small foot out of line in future the powers of the court will come down on you like a ton of bricks.”
Detective Constable Andy Parkinson said: “Nuttall used excessive violence in these offences and the severity of his crimes is reflected in his sentence.
“I hope the fact this man is now behind bars and will be there for some years to come offers some reassurance to the public.”
Picture courtesy of Colin Smith, with thanks.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
