Man jailed for late-night glass bottle attack in Bournemouth

Avisen Goyanda ran around 100 yards down Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth to arm himself with two bottles.

He returned to the scene where an altercation had broken out between two groups of men.

CCTV footage played at Bournemouth Crown Court showed him strike a man round the head with the glass flying off into the face of another man.

The man who was struck first suffered a deep laceration to the side of his head with a wound which left a four-inch scar.

The other man lost a significant amount of blood after suffering multiple lacerations to the side of his face.

Both victims were left with scars as a result of the injuries.

Goyanda, 23 and of Five Acres, Northgate in Crawley, was jailed for three years and eight months at a hearing on February 7, having previously pleaded guilty to offences of wounding with intent and wounding.

The incident took place in the early hours on Saturday, June 30, 2018.

Judge Stephen Climie said: “I have to deal with you for an incident that took place almost five years ago when you were just 18 years of age.

“The incident that we have watched on the video recording from closed-circuit television cameras does you little credit.

“An incident began between you and those you knew and a group of young men in the street.

“One side or the other or both should have simply walked away.

“On the face of it all those involved were clearly intoxicated. Whether that was a combination of drugs and alcohol or alcohol alone matters not.”

Prosecuting, John Dyer showed the footage of the incident to the court.

He said the defendant had been on a night out in Bournemouth with people he knew when an altercation broke out between one of the party and another group of men, who they did not know.

Goyanda and the two victims were not involved in this initial tussle, the court heard.

Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth

Mr Dyer said the defendant emerges from the group and runs down the road in the direction of Horseshoe Common.

He can be seen to collect two bottles and return to the scene of the altercation.

Mr Dyer said: “He conceals the two bottles behind his back so no-one can see has a bottle until he uses it.”

The prosecutor read victim personal statements from the two complainants, which were written two years after the incident.

Both detailed the significant impact the injuries had on them physically, psychologically and financially.

The victim of the initial blow said: “I went to Bournemouth for a friend’s birthday evening which I rarely do due to work commitments and family.

“I do not think I would go out in Bournemouth in the evening again because the incident shocked me.”

The second victim required 40 stitches to the left side of his face and said he was still living with the consequences of the assault.

He added: “I have not been back to Bournemouth since and I avoid large or busy places. If I go out I am wary and I have difficulty relaxing.”

Maja Wilkins, mitigating, said the defendant had no previous convictions, he was remorseful and he had not reoffended since the incident.

“By staying out of trouble he has demonstrated his ability to avoid such situations,” Ms Wilkins said.

She added: “Mr Goyanda is well aware of what awaits him but in those last four years waiting for this sentence he has started to mature into the young man he hoped to become.

“He is a very different man to the one he was when he was 18.”

Judge Climie said: “The factors which I take into account are alcohol, your deliberate arming of yourself with two bottles having run some distance to do so and then running back to the scene, the fact that there were two victims and the fact that both have suffered significant injuries to there head and face.”

He said the defendant was immature at the time of attack, there had been a lengthy delay in the case and his guilty plea entitled him to a reduced sentence.

If you are interested in court and crime news, stay up to date with all our latest updates in our dedicated Facebook group. To find out more and to join click here.