Jail for beating deaf pensioner for £1.06
Dec 12 2006 By Rod Minchin, The Journal
A burglar who battered a deaf pensioner for just £1.06 was yesterday jailed for nine years.
Barry Jemmett left Jimmy Mundell for dead after he was disturbed breaking into the 76-year-old's caravan in February this year.
Jemmett and his accomplice, Christopher Crane, beat Mr Mundell unconscious before Jemmett rifled through the pensioner's pockets and made off with his spare change.
The 24-year-old was high on a cocktail of heroin, valium and alcohol when he and Crane burst into Mr Mundell's home in Etherley Bank, West Auckland, County Durham.
When Mr Mundell - known in his local community as a "bit of a character" - tried to fight back he was beaten unconscious and left for dead, Durham Crown Court was told.
Prosecutor Christopher Dorman O'Gowan said: "They both set about punching Mr Mundell in the head and body.
"Mr Mundell managed to pick up a knife because he thought his life was about to end at this point. Mr Jemmett managed to pull the knife away causing a cut to his hand. The two men then fled the scene with a quantity of cash. They left Mr Mundell in a desperate state. He was left with what can be described as life-threatening wounds."
Mr Mundell, who had lived in the caravan for three decades, was treated for a broken nose and severe bruising and has since suffered long-term mental health problems.
Jailing the 24-year-old heroin addict, Judge Guy Whitburn QC told Jemmett that it was a "horrific burglary and savage attack", leaving Mr Mundell for dead. He told him: "You pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to this horrific attack upon 76-year-old James Mundell in his own caravan on that particular night. You two left him for dead."
He added: "This is one of the worst cases of this type that I have come across."
Jemmett, of Sydenham Road in Hartlepool, pleaded guilty last month to burglary and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, on the basis that he did not use a weapon during the attack.
Crane, 24, of Low Martin Field Farm, Gilmonby, West Auckland, was jailed earlier this year for nine years after admitting the same charges.
Mr Dorman O'Gowan said Jemmett had almost 100 previous convictions for burglary, assault, affray, theft and shoplifting.
