Ex-soldier repeatedly kicked blind housemate in face during drunken attack
A former soldier repeatedly kicked his blind housemate in the face during a sickening drunken attack over living arrangements.
Darren Elias, 27, grappled with the victim and threw him out of the front door of their shared property.
He then started kicking him ‘two or three times’ in the face as he lay defenceless on the floor.
Elias pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was given a 42-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Manchester Crown Court heard how Elias’s former housemate, who is registered blind and can only see ‘shapes and outlines’, returned home and realised he was locked out.
He banged on the door and Elias, who served for eight years as an infantryman in the Army, eventually let him in.
Elias then accused the man of ‘not paying his way’ and demanded that he leave, or he would ‘make him’.
A struggle ensued, and they began to grapple, prosecutor Andrew Evans said.
The court heard the pair fell on the floor, with Elias on top of the man. The victim managed to get to his feet, but Elias then threw him out of the front door.
He landed ‘heavily’ on the pavement, suffering deep grazes to his hands, Mr Evans said.
It was then Elias – who appeared in court with his right arm in a large sling – kicked the man ‘two or three times’ in the face and also punched him.
Elias admitted attacking the victim when quizzed by police, telling officers he did not want the man in the house.
Defending, Estelle Parkhouse conceded it was a ‘serious’ assault, committed against a ‘vulnerable’ victim.
Ms Parkhouse said Elias accepted he punched and kicked the man.
Ms Parkhouse said: "Things had reached a crescendo, because of the problems with the living arrangements.
"He [Elias] wanted him out of the address."
Elias has suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder following his time in the army, the court was told, and has a drink problem.
He was drunk at the time of the attack, but was ‘remorseful’, Ms Parkhouse added.
Judge Martin Walsh ordered Elias, of Swinton, Greater Manchester, to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
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