A JAIL sentence has been handed to a young man who smashed his ex-girlfriend’s car with a sledgehammer after assaulting her in Aylesbury.
Cameron Samuel, 22, was jailed for 12 months after a sentencing hearing on Wednesday (August 16) at Reading Crown Court for one count each of possession of an offensive weapon, common assault, using threatening words, and criminal damage.
He was arrested and charged after an incident on May 15 when he assaulted his ex-partner, who we have decided to not name, over a £40 drug debt.
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Samuel then damaged her car by smashing in the rear window, the passenger window and the rear passenger window with a sledgehammer.
The victim has spoken out about how the incident has left her suffering with anxiety, PTSD and clinical depression.
During the hearing, the court heard the victim had gone to a property in Meredith Drive, Aylesbury when Samuel became ‘aggressive and cornered’ her following an argument about a drug debt.
Samuel then ‘swung’ at the victim causing a contusion to her head and a cut to her lip.
The victim then tried to leave the property but phone footage taken by her showed Samuel and two other people blocking access to her car.
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She finally is able to get into the vehicle but Samuel proceeds to smash to rear window with a sledgehammer before she drives down the street and pleads with a neighbour to call the police.
Samuel then uses threatening words towards the neighbour before smashing a further two windows while the neighbour calls the police.
Police arrived and Samuel was arrested at about 1.07pm. He was released on conditional bail not to return the address but was later remanded in custody due to breaching the conditions.
In a victim impact statement read out in the court, the victim said the incident has ‘left her in a bad place’ and she can constantly ‘see the sledgehammer coming towards’ her.
Defending Samuel, his barrister Joel Reynolds stated he has had a ‘rocky childhood’ and suffers from mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
He also has learning difficulties including ADHD, Aspergers and autism.
Sentencing Samuel, of Belgrave Road, Aylesbury, Judge Sarah Campbell said: “I’ve come to the view that, though there is mitigation, the appropriate punishment can only be achieved through a custodial sentence.”
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As well as a 12 month prison sentence, he was also made subject to a seven-year restraining order against the victim as well as a 12-month serious violence reduction order for 12 months starting upon his release.
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