Melksham man jailed for vicious assault (From Wiltshire Times)

Melksham man jailed for vicious assault

8:00pm Saturday 28th January 2012 in Melksham

A 41-year-old man who subjected his girlfriend to days of violence before launching an assault on her has been jailed for two years.

Jason Wynter, formerly of Littlejohn Avenue, Melksham, struck the woman up to 50 times as an argument over his behaviour at a party simmered for almost three days.

He then demanded she give him her cash card and PIN number so he could get some money, but when she refused, he grabbed her, pushed her and punched her in the eye.

He later followed her into Melksham town centre pulling her hair and demanding money.

Wynter had been with Leanne McEwan for a few months when they went to a party on Saturday, November 18.

At Swindon Crown Court last Thursday, a judge heard they left after the defendant was upset by something the host had said.

Once home they started to argue about what had happened and, during the course of the argument, Wynter became violent.

The row continued for a number of days during which time he struck her 49 to 50 times, though none of the blows caused visible injury.

On the following Tuesday he demanded money from her, asking for her cash card, which she refused. He then grabbed her by the arms so hard he left bruising and pushed her against a kitchen sink, causing her to hit her head against a cabinet.

Wynter repeated the demands for cash and pinned her by the throat and when she again refused, he let her go and punched her to the left eye.

He continued to demand money and pulled at her hair.

When she got into town she gave him £20, but he kept on so she handed him another £10 and only stopped when she went into a supermarket.

Wynter pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm and harassment.

Alex Daymond, defending, said although his client had a long history of crime there had been little input from the probation service over the years.

He said he would get the best help for his problems by going on a domestic abuse programme in the community rather than having another jail term.

But passing sentence, Judge Euan Ambrose said: “This was a disgraceful piece of behaviour over several days against someone who was in no position to resist you in any way, culminating in a serious assault.”

As well as jailing him for two years, he also imposed a restraining order banning him from having contact with the victim or going to the road where she lives.