A church minister’s son who attacked a shop security guard in a dispute over a 10p carrier bag has been spared jail by a judge after organising a whip-round to “compensate” the victim, a court heard.
Douglas Aigbedo, 25, “threw two forceful punches” at Olumuyiwa Adeyemi in the self-service area of a 24 hour Tesco store in Gorton, Manchester, after being accused of not paying for the bag whilst buying a pair of socks.
Mr Adeyemi, who is in his 50s, fell over a railing and was knocked out when he hit his head against the tiled floor, leaving him with “whiplash-type injuries” which required five courses of physiotherapy, Manchester Crown Court was told.
During the hearing, Aigbedo, whose father is a minister of a church the security guard attends, avoided a jail sentence after it was heard he had raised £6000 from family and friends to cover Mr Adeyemi’s loss of earnings.
He had been warned he faced jail time at a hearing last October after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm.
Judge Anthony Cross QC said: “A custodial sentence is no longer necessary. This young man acted out of character. He can make a positive contribution to society and I suspect this will motivate him to make a positive contribution to society.”
The Aeronautical Engineering student, in his final year at university, was ordered instead to complete 200 hours unpaid work as part of a 12 month community order.
Following the attack in August 2018, which the judge said could have “quite easily” left Mr Adeyemi with brain damage, Aigbedo fled the scene but surrendered himself to police two weeks later, claiming he had acted in self defence.
He has written a letter expressing his “considerable shame” and regret to the security guard, who described the incident as “life changing” and can now only manage to work three shifts a week instead of five .
Source: Telegraph UK
