A victim who suffered a serious head wound in #Maidstone has seen his assailant jailed

Early in the morning on 9 August 2020, a man in his 40s was in Union Street when he saw a group of men walking in his direction. One of them, Luke Priestman, was holding a glass in his hand and appeared angry. The man did not know Priestman but had seen him in the area and, fearing he was going to get himself in trouble, tried to persuade him to put the glass down. Despite his persistent efforts to calm the situation down, Priestman suddenly raised the arm holding the glass and struck the victim. The glass smashed and caused a large cut to his left ear. The victim fended off his assailant and the latter was pulled away by his associates. The group then ran from the scene leaving the victim to seek medical attention. Our officers were alerted and, following enquiries, the suspect was arrested at his home address in Queen Anne Road. He was later selected in an identification procedure and charged. At Maidstone Crown Court on Monday 20 December 2021, Priestman pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. The 29-year-old received three years’ imprisonment which included the activation of a suspended sentence. PC Jamie Webb, of Maidstone CID, said: ‘This was an unprovoked attack on a public-spirited person who was seeking to calm down a potentially violent situation. ‘The victim suffered a serious head wound and the effects of the assault continue to have an impact of him. ‘Priestman has been remanded in custody since the incident and a further period behind bars is entirely appropriate.’