A terrified man was viciously attacked by a violent gang inside his own home in a vigilante-style revenge beating after he refused to loan a woman some money so that she could repay a drug debt.
The angry intruders forced their way into the premises and demanded that he hand over cash. They also attacked his uncle and his grandmother when they tried to help him during the frightening confrontation, Hull Crown Court heard.
Joseph Larkin, 24, of Victor Street, off Holderness Road, east Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted robbery of the main victim, assaulting the uncle, causing actual bodily harm, and assaulting the grandmother on April 5.
Mollie Briggs, prosecuting, said that a man received a telephone call from a woman asking her to loan her some money to repay a drug debt. She told him that there would be repercussions if this did not happen but he said that he had no money to loan her. She was not happy with that and said that she needed money.
The man returned to his home in Hull but, after 8.15pm, he heard a knock from downstairs and his name being shouted. He went downstairs and was confronted by Larkin, another man, the woman who wanted the money and another woman. They were shouting and swearing at him.
Larkin swung his fist towards the man but it missed and hit a wall. The man shut the door and Larkin kicked it. The occupier ran upstairs to his room but the intruders forced their way in and they all began hitting him in his bedroom, demanding that he hand over money.
The victim was hit to his body and the back of his head. “He cried out in pain, responding that he didn’t have any money,” said Miss Briggs. “His phone was snatched out of his hand.” The man left to try to get to the front door and he saw his uncle being assaulted on the stairs.
One of the men put the uncle in a headlock and forcibly took him upstairs. They kicked him to the head, causing swelling and bruising to his head and jaw. The occupier’s grandmother was pushed into the hallway, causing her to fall down.
The man later said: “This whole incident has massively shaken me up and I am terrified of staying in my own home. It is just unforgivable. This will now have a lasting impact on my life.”
The court heard that another man was in custody and one of the women was under investigation. No further action had been taken against the woman who wanted the money.
Larkin had convictions for 49 previous offences, including assault and handling stolen goods in March 2018, assault in June 2018, assaulting emergency workers in June 2019, possessing an offensive weapon and assaulting emergency workers and possessing an offensive weapon in May 2021. He had been jailed for three months in February for assault and causing criminal damage.
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Emma Handley, mitigating, said that it was a group incident but it was started by the woman who wanted the money. “It was her dispute and the other people then got involved and it got out of hand,” said Miss Handley. “No weapons were being used.”
There were no excessive punches or kicks and it was not clear who assaulted the occupier. It was a joint enterprise. Larkin had a long list of previous convictions but his longest previous prison sentence was 16 months in 2021.
Judge John Thackray KC told Larkin: “There were three victims. It included attacking a man within his own home as part of a group activity. Your victim was entitled to feel safe and secure but now he wants to move away. Some people never recover from an attack like this.”
Larkin was jailed for six years.