A COVENTRY couple who carried out a vicious attack on one of their neighbours in the street, leaving her on the ground with a dislocated shoulder, have escaped being jailed.
Noel Finch and Stacey Bradshaw had denied assaulting their victim Wendy Cantalapiedra, causing her actual bodily harm, but were convicted after a trial at Warwick Crown Court.
And following an adjournment for reports to be prepared, Finch (45) and Bradshaw (26) both of Torrington Avenue, Tile Hill, were sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for 18 months.
Bradshaw was ordered to take part in a rehabilitation activity for 35 days and Finch, who had been remanded in custody since the trial in January, for 25 days.
The jury had heard that at the time of the assault in August 2016 the couple were living at an address in Hewitt Avenue in the Radford area of Coventry.
Prosecutor Matthew Barnes said the background to their ‘vicious joint attack’ on Wendy, who has since sadly died of causes unrelated to the incident, had taken place the day before.
Finch’s car had been hit by another vehicle which had then been abandoned as the driver made off on foot.
Wendy came out to tell Finch she believed the driver had left the area – but he responded aggressively, telling her: “Wind your f***ing neck in and get back into your f***ing house.”
The following day Wendy happened to go outside to empty her bin and saw a tow truck being used by Finch and another man to take the car that had been involved in the collision.
“Wendy, no doubt in the view of Mr Finch, interfered, in that she told Mr Finch that he should not be taking a car that didn’t belong to him. He told her to ‘f*** off.’”
As the man with the tow truck left with the car, she told Finch they had effective just stolen it.
“That caused him to lose his temper, and he told her to mind her own business. There was then an attack on Wendy by Mr Finch and by Stacey Bradshaw.”
In a statement about the attack, Wendy said that Finch was joined in the street by Bradshaw who he encouraged to assault her, telling her: “Go on Stace, give her one.”
It began with Bradshaw kicking Wendy to the midriff, grabbing her hair and kicking and punching her, and Finch joined in, during which he stumbled and stood on Wendy as she was on the ground.
The two then walked away, leaving Wendy, who unknown to them had health problems, on the ground with a dislocated left shoulder and bruising.
After the trial the case was adjourned for longer than normal because Bradshaw was heavily pregnant, and has since given birth to their son who, with her older child, is being cared for by her mother.
At the resumed hearing, the court heard that apart from a matter as a juvenile, Finch had only two minor convictions for violence, while Bradshaw had no previous convictions.
Andrew Tucker, for Finch, said: “An unusual feature of this case is his frank response to how he’s been faring in prison. He has made a great deal of progress.”
Mr Tucker said that for three-and-a-half years Finch had been neglecting himself and was ‘a complete wreck,’ but in custody he had begun to take care of himself, had lost weight and his mental state was a lot better than it had been for some time.
Simon Hunka, for Bradshaw, conceded: “I can’t think of a better word than disgraceful for this incident.
“But that was her first offence at the age of 26. This could be viewed as a flaring of temper and an out-of-character piece of behaviour for her.”
Mr Hunka added that Bradshaw had an underlying drug problem, but was battling to overcome it and attends the Recovery Partnership twice a week.
Sentencing the two, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano said: “She was a middle-aged lady who suffered from a number of conditions. None of that would have been obvious, but if you attack someone, the fact they are less well than they appear is a risk you take.
“If you set upon someone in the street in that way, two-on-one, you are clearly committing a very serious offence indeed.
“But Mr Finch, you have clearly made progress in the time you have served in prison. You look in a lot better state than when I last saw you.
“Miss Bradshaw, your problem is class A drugs, and that is something you really need to knock on the head. You both need to get your lives back on track. This is your chance to do that.”
