Mansfield man who attacked victim with a golf club told to ‘grow up’
A Mansfield man who used a golf club to attack his victim on a mobility scooter was told to “grow up” when he appeared before a judge.
James Parker's victim was waiting with his dog while his wife visited relatives inside a flat on Hucklow Court at 9.30pm, on November 11, 2023.
Louise Howard, prosecuting, said Parker, aged 53, approached him and asked: “What's all the fireworks about?”
When the man said: “What are you on about?” Parker told him: “”You have had this coming for a while.”
Parker struck him twice over the shoulders and back with the golf club. His victim ran inside and Parker walked away swinging the club.
The man was taken to hospital with swelling to his left shoulder, a chipped shoulder bone, and a displaced fracture to a rib.
When Parker was arrested on November 12 he denied the assault and claimed he was at home at the time.
His victim was left with physical, mental and emotional issues, said Ms Howard.
“He struggles to go out alone and panics when he hears noises behind him,” she said. “He says he just wants to lead a normal life and go outside without feeling anxious he is going to be attacked.”
Nottingham Crown Court heard Parker has ten previous convictions for 13 offences and was last in trouble in 2014 for drug offences.
Ellesse Taylor, mitigating, said Parker eventually took full responsibility for his actions and showed remorse.
“Grow up for goodness’ sake,” Judge Stuart Rafferty told him on Friday, April 24. “Quite clearly there is a history between you two.
“Just pause for a moment to think: if you had hit him on the head with the club and you fractured his skull, or in fact killed him, you would be looking at life imprisonment and you would be serving a minimum term of 20 years because you took a weapon to the scene.
“Fortunately for you the injuries that he sustained were minor. But you didn’t think of that when you were hitting him with the golf club.”
Parker, of Hathersage Walk, Mansfield, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm on the day of a trial, on February 25.
He received a nine-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months with ten rehabilitation days.