TWO men have been jailed for violently assaulting a man who had just attended his brother’s funeral.
27-year-old Reiss Johnson and 22-year-old Daniel Striling were sentenced to a combined total of 22 months behind bars for violently assaulting the man at a Solihull pub.
The attack happened on the evening of Tuesday (April 14) last year after the 61-year-old victim and his friend asked the rowdy pair, who were part of a group, to quieten down.
Johnson and Stirling were challenged about the anti-social behaviour whilst the victim was waiting outside the Olton Tavern on Lode Lane for a lift.
The pair reacted by throwing a banana skin and a shot glass – before launching a vicious attack – punching and kicking their target as he lay on the ground.
West Midlands Police released CCTV of the assault as part of an appeal to trace the men a few weeks later, which prompted the duo to hand themselves in at Solihull police station.
At Birmingham Crown Court, both pleaded guilty to assault.
Johnson was sentenced to 16 months in jail and Stirling was sentenced to six.
PC Chris Parry, from the violent crime team at Chelmsley Wood police station, said: “This was a violent and completely unnecessary attack on two men who had been minding their own business before the group began to pick on them.
“The level of violence was completely unprovoked and particularly distressing – given that the two men had just laid a close relative to rest.
“CCTV captured some of the attack and after being shared on social media, Johnson and Stirling had no choice but to hand themselves in.”
