Long jail sentences for dreadlocks attack pair
Two men who launched a "devastating" town centre attack on a man in "60 seconds of madness", ripping out his dreadlocks and causing him brain damage, have been jailed.
Daniel Shelley, aged 27, and 28-year-old Stuart Fairey attacked Desmond Liburd while on a night out in Gold Street on April 19 last year.
The 48-year-old suffered serious head injuries, forcing doctors to place him into an induced coma. Northampton Crown Court heard he was still receiving treatment nearly a year on and his full recovery may take years.
CCTV footage captured Mr Liburd being followed from Millennium Pizza takeaway towards Sol Central. He was later found unconscious with "lots of blood around him".
Fairey and Shelley, both of Blackthorn, Northampton, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to cause serious injury.
Fairey, of Hopmeadow Court, received a five-and-a-half year sentence yesterday after it emerged he had previous convictions for violence, while father-of-two Shelley, of Greatmeadow, was given five years.
Mr Liburd and his family were in court to hear Judge Thomas Corrie pass sentence.
Judge Corrie described the lasting effect of the attack as "devastating". He said: "Those who drink do so consciously. It is a deliberate act. Those who, as you both did, knock somebody to the ground for no good reason and then use their feet as weapons to kick a helpless victim in the head are acting very dangerously indeed."
The judge heard both defendants had written letters to Mr Liburd to apologise for their actions.
Beverly Roberts, for Fairey, said her client had shown "a great deal of remorse" for what he had done and the effect it would have on his family, especially his four-year-old son.
Ben Gow, for Shelley, said his client was a "hard working, loving family man" for whom violence was "totally out of character". He said Shelley's family would pay a high price for "60 seconds of madness".
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