A MAN who knocked another man to the gound with a single punch and left him with a bleed in the brain has been jailed for a year.
Jay Michael (29), of The Dashes, Harlow, was told by a judge he was lucky he was not facing a more serious charge.
Michael pleaded guilty to wounding Martin Burton in the early hours of April 30.
Richard Scott, prosecuting at Chelmsford Crown Court, said the incident was captured on CCTV cameras as a group of people, including Michael, walked past Mr Burton in Terminus Street.
“The defendant doubled back and hit him once,” said Mr Scott. “He fell to the floor unconcious before the crowd walked off.
“Mr Burton, who was placed in a recovery position by a passer-by, was taken to hospital where it was found he had a bleed on the brain. No surgery was required after the bleeding stopped and he was discharged on May 3.”
Jodie Hitchcock, representing Michael, said in mitigation he had been to a nightclub but was not drunk and earlier in the evening had acted as a peacemaker in a separate incident.
Referring to the punch, she said: “It was not premeditated or a sustained attack. As Michael walked past something was said to cause him and his friends to make them turn back.
“Mr Burton was told to shut up, there was further discussion and he was punched.”
Passing sentence, judge Rodger Hayward Smith told Michael: “Somebody who punches somebody and causes bleeding on the brain can’t reasonably receive anything other than a prison sentence.
“You’re very lucky you’re not facing a much more serious charge.”
