THREE men have been sentenced after putting a man through a traumatic ordeal following a random encounter during a night out in Warrington.
The victim was put through “an incredibly traumatic ordeal” suffering serious injuries, including a fractured eye socket, after being locked in a hotel bedroom and having his bank card stolen.
Jordan Foster, Joshua Bednarek, and Callum Higgins appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday 7 October.
Foster, 31, of Livingstone Road, Bradford, was sentenced to 35 months for section 20 assault (inflicting grievous bodily harm), theft, and section 39 battery.
Bednarek, 28, of Kirk Deighton, Harrogate, was sentenced to 32 months for section 20 assault and theft.
Higgins, 22, of Cross Lane, Leeds, was sentenced to two years suspended for 18 months for section 20 assault and theft.
On the evening of 15 March, the victim – a 22-year-old man – had been on a night out in Warrington town centre with his friend when they were approached by Bednarek, Foster, and Higgins. The three men asked if they could transfer money into one of their accounts and withdraw the cash, due to them not having a bank card.
Following this interaction, the group stayed together and entered a nightclub in Bridge Street, leaving the establishment between 12 and 1am on 16 March.
Bednarek, Foster, and Higgins then invited the victim and his friend back to their hotel room in Parker Street.
Once the victim’s friend had left the hotel, an altercation then took place between the victim and the three defendants. During this incident, they locked him inside the hotel room and assaulted him, also taking his bank card and phone.
Bednarek, Foster, and Higgins decided to have another drink and started to walk back into Warrington town centre, via Museum Street. They forced the victim to cover his face due to his injuries. He had suffered a fractured eye socket, swelling and cuts to his face, and a chipped tooth.
The group then crossed paths with a 23-year-old woman who spoke with Foster before an altercation broke out between the pair. Foster then assaulted the woman, who reported the incident to police at around 3am.
Foster was subsequently arrested minutes later, however at this time, officers were not aware of the original incident. The victim then reported what happened to him later that morning. Bednarek and Higgins were arrested the same day following enquiries at the hotel they were staying at.
The three defendants were charged in March and subsequently pleaded guilty.
DC Martyn Huyton-Berry said:“This was a completely random encounter on the streets of Warrington which resulted in the victim being put through an incredibly traumatic ordeal, sustaining serious injuries.
“Bringing these defendants to justice was a real team effort, involving Response, Beat, and CID officers, who all worked together to secure charges against Bednarek, Foster, and Higgins, and bring them before the courts.”
