Chesterfield man jailed for his part in vicious doorstep attack with metal bar

A north Derbyshire man has been jailed for his part in a vicious doorstep attack on an innocent man with a metal bar.
Daniel Kay outside court.Daniel Kay outside court.
Daniel Kay outside court.

The victim was beaten up in his own home after telling two men who turned up hoping to buy cannabis they had the wrong address.

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And although he did not know about the weapon until it was used and did not take part in the violence himself, Daniel Kay, of North Wingfield, has now been jailed for his involvement.

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Last year one of victim John Barnes’s attackers, Andrew Orzechowski, 35, of Park Road, Rugby, Warwickshire, was jailed for five-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to assault with intent to rob.

In a separate hearing Daniel Kay denied the charge – but finally admitted his involvement on the day of his trial at Warwick Crown Court.

Kay, 33, of Chesterfield Road, North Wingfield, who had also admitted taking a car without consent, was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Prosecutor Mohammed Hafeez said that in December 2017 Kay was visiting Rugby where he took his brother-in-law’s car without his consent after meeting up with Orzechowski on December 30.

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The two of them then went to Mr Barnes’s home in the Bilton area of the town, in the mistaken belief that they would be able to buy cannabis at the address.

When Mr Barnes, who was at home with his partner and his 18-year-old son, answered the door, he was asked: “How much for one and a half?”

There was a discussion during which Mr Barnes told them they had the wrong address, at which Orzechowski produced a metal bar and struck him over the head with it.

Orzechowski, who began demanding money, and Kay then entered the house where Orzechowski continued his attack, knocking Mr Barnes to the floor and kicking him.

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But he and his partner had only a few pence between them, and as the demands continued, his son handed his X-box console to Kay before they then left the house and drove off.

Orzechowski’s DNA was found on a pair of gloves recovered from outside the property, and Kay was traced through the car registration number – but was not initially charged after he accepted being present but denied having any involvement.

Errol Ballentyne, defending, pointed out that Kay had entered his plea on the basis that he was present when violence was used by Orzechowski, and that he took the games console.

But he had not been aware of the metal bar until it was produced by Orzechowski, and had not taken part in the violence.

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Mr Ballentyne added that Kay, whose record was not as bad as Orzechowski’s, was currently serving a prison sentence after being jailed for breaching a suspended sentence.

Jailing Kay, Judge Anthony Potter told him: “You together went in your brother-in-law’s car, taken without his permission, to Mr Barnes’s house.

“It seems it was a mistake to go to his property because almost immediately he answered the door you and your associate were talking about drugs, and Mr Barnes tried making it plain you had got the wrong house.

I don’t know what was in Mr Orzechowski’s mind, but it’s certainly not the case that he came to the door with a weapon in his hand or that it was a pre-planned plan to rob Mr Barnes.

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“But your associate decided to withdraw the metal bar from his trousers, and within a flash Mr Barnes was being hit repeatedly to the head with that bar.

“The obvious act by anyone wanting to dissociate himself from the violence would be to go back to the car.

“But you did not, you stepped into the property and, although you may not have added practical assistance, by stepping into the house you associated yourself with what was going on.

“I sentence you on the basis that you did not appreciate a robbery was being planned, and that you did not have a weapon and did not participate in the violence.

“But it is essential people in this country feel safe in their own homes.”