January 26, 2010
Heroin Addict Sentenced For ABH
A man who admitted assaulting his then partner and hitting her with a pole was given a three month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, after serving 11 months while on remand.
Daniel Hobbs, 29, of Bruthwaite Green, Bedford, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm at Luton Crown Court on Friday 22 January.
Hobbs, who had been a prolific offender in the past, had settled down when he moved in with a partner and her children two years previously. But on 14 May last year that changed when he argued with the woman involved and slapped and punched her and at some stage struck her with a light weight pole. Her son tried to intervene and Hobbs chased him out of the house. She suffered bruises.
Judge Jeffrey Burke QC told Hobbs: "When you met the victim you felt you had found the security of a family which you had always craved and that lay behind your determination to put your criminal behaviour behind you.
"You went for two years without getting into trouble, but you were addicted to heroin throughout that time. You blame this incident on heroin that had been adulterated but that is a risk you take if you use illegal drugs."
Derek Johashen, defending, said: "He is still in love with her but accepts the relationship is over and will abide by a restraining order not to contact her. He has been making considerable efforts to change his life."
