A 22-year-old man has been given an extended prison sentence of eight years for a violent attack on a pensioner.
Joseph Charlott broke into a 77-year-old’s motorhome and, when the pensioner tried to call the police, he was attacked and his campervan and phone were damaged.
Charlott was so brutal that he left the pensioner, Alan Clarke, of Malvern Way, Hastings, with a broken shoulder blade, broken ribs and a fractured chest bone.
He knocked the man to the ground and kicked him again and again as he was lying helpless.
The violent attack happened in May last year just a day after Charlott, of Deepdene Gardens, Hastings, had been found with a knuckleduster and spat at a police officer.
Police identified Charlott as the attacker but he went on the run. He was found almost three months later when he jumped out of a second-floor window as he tried to flee.
Charlott, of Deepdene Gardens, Hastings, was found guilty by jury of four offences after a three-day trial which ended at Hove Crown Court on Thursday 3 October.
He was remanded in custody until his sentencing hearing at the same court on Tuesday (26 November).
Judge Jeremy Gold jailed him for five years and ordered him to serve three years on extended licence, having deemed him “dangerous” in law.
The sentence was for assaulting a man, causing him grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, assaulting an emergency worker, having an offensive weapon and causing criminal damage.
After the jury’s guilty verdicts, Temporary Detective Sergeant Jake O’Reilly said: “Sussex Police were alerted to a violent assault in Malvern Way, Hastings, that had left a 77-year-old man in hospital facing serious injuries including a fractured shoulder blade, fractured ribs and a fractured chest bone.
“The named suspect, Jospeh Charlott, was known to Sussex Police after he had spat at an officer in custody and had been found in possession of a knuckleduster only 24 hours earlier.
“Following this more serious incident, a police investigation followed and evidence was recovered from a variety of sources that confirmed Charlott had smashed his way into the victim’s motorhome on Friday 12 May 2023.
“When he was then confronted by its owner who phoned the police, Charlott responded with a flurry of violence that culminated in him knocking the victim to the floor and repeatedly kicking him while he was lying defenceless on the ground.
“Charlott then went on the run from May until August 2023 and when he was finally located by officers. He jumped out of a second-storey window and violently fought off three officers.
“This level of violence against a vulnerable member of the public protecting his property and then on police officers performing their lawful duty is indefensible.
“I’m glad to see that, on hearing the evidence, the jury convicted Charlott and Judge Gold has now given him an extended sentence due to his dangerous nature.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the many teams across Sussex Police who worked tirelessly to investigate, locate, arrest and charge Charlott – and I hope his sentence will offer some closure for the victims.”
