A man who threw a single punch and floored another man in Luton town centre leaving him with a bleed on his brain, has been jailed for for more than two years.
Romanian Ion Bujor delivered blow in Wellington Street outside a shop and left his victim, fellow countryman Ian Neamu, lying in the road.
His injuries were life threatening and he required specialist treatment in a hospital
At Luton Crown Court on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, Bujor, 40, of Guildford Street in Luton pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm on April 29 last year.
Judge Steven Evans hearing the case was told both men had been in the shop around 7.15pm that evening.
At one point Mr Neamu was seen to grab the right sleeve of the defendant’s anorak.
Bujor, who has been drinking that evening, pulled his arm away and moments later Mr Neamu left the store.
The court then heard how after Bujor left the shop, he attacked Mr Neamu stepping forward to land a heavy punch on the victim’s face which caused him to fall to the ground flat on his back.
Bujor turned on his heels and made off and members of the public rushed to Mr Neamu’s aid and called an ambulance.
He was taken to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital and from there transferred to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge.
It was found he had suffered a bleed on his brain, and the vertebrae at the top of his spinal column had been fractured in the fall to the ground.
His injuries were life threatening, the court heard and he remained in hospital until May 20 when he discharged himself against medical advice.
Following the assault Bujor was arrested the following day and didn’t answer any questions put to him by the police.
The court heard Bujor had been convicted of crimes in Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands.
His barrister Damian Warburton said he now felt remorse for what happened that evening and knew his behaviour was unacceptable.
Passing sentence Judge Steven Evans told Bujor: “The victim is older than you. You are a large man, much bigger than he is. You stepped towards him and punch him.
“He had his hands by his side and was unable to defend himself or mitigate the force of the attack on him. You hit him very hard and he immediately fell to the floor.”
The judge said Mr Neamu had suffered serious injuries and had been “very unwell” in hospital.
“It’s clear it was touch and go at some point during his treatment,” said the judge.
The judge said his previous convictions read like “a tour of Europe.”
He sentenced Bujor to 25 months in prison.
Before he was led out of the dock to the court cells, the judge told him: “Sadly, in these courts we see cases where people have died as a result of a single punch and I hope you bare that in mind in the future.”
