Two jailed after hot knives used to brand men in Wakefield

[dutchman]

Two men have been jailed after a pair of men were branded with hot knives and left for dead in West Yorkshire.

Stephen Quaid, 35, from Coventry and US citizen Brian Nevins, 25, were drugged in Wakefield after a night out in Leeds on 30 January.

Hot knives were used to brand the word "Wakey" on their backs.

At Leeds Crown Court Jamie Newington, 29, was jailed for 10 years and one month. Steven Shevill, 32, was jailed for 11 years.

Newington, of Doncaster Road, Wakefield, admitted two counts of causing GBH and drugs offences.

Shevill, of Millfield Road, Horbury in Wakefield, admitted two counts of causing GBH with intent, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and drugs offences.

Newington and Shevill were on drugs at the time of the incident, the court heard.

Newington later told police: "It was just a laugh."

Tricked on drugs

Mr Quaid and Mr Nevins were visiting Leeds, and came across Newington, who persuaded them to attend a party in a flat in Wakefield.

The court heard how once at the flat, the victims were tricked into taking drugs, which left them unconscious.

Mobile phone footage shown in court showed Mr Quaid's stomach and hair being set alight.

The court heard how Mr Quaid suffered from a fractured eye socket, fractured ribs, and a leakage of spinal fluid from his nose.

Mr Nevins suffered from bruising to his head and body, and bruising to his right lung.

The hot knives used to brand the men's backs with the word "Wakey" resulted in permanent scarring. The court heard how the term "Wakey" is sometimes used as shorthand for Wakefield.

'Less than human'

In sentencing Newington and Shevill, Judge Collier said: "On the face of it you are quite decent people.

"You clearly lost touch with what was and what wasn't acceptable behaviour. You treated them as less than human, as objects and as toys. Your behaviour was shocking."

Three other people were sentenced in connection with the incident.

Daniel Butler, 27, of Foxglove Folly, Alverthorpe, Wakefield, helped to move the victims in his car. He was jailed for 13 months after admitting conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Matthew Pape, 26, of Grove Rise, Pontefract, was jailed for 14 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Pape also helped to move the victims out of the flat following the attack.

Natalie Rhodes, 21, lived in the flat where the attack took place and was Shevill's girlfriend at the time. She received a 12-month sentence suspended for two years after admitting assisting an offender and drugs offences.