Colwyn Bay attack: Two men jailed for life for gang attack with a sword, axe and baseball bats

Judge said Stephen Holding and Glyn Hall carried out a 'merciless and cowardly attack' on Alieu Jasseh

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Stephen Holding (left) and Glyn Hall who were jailed for life after attacking Alieu Jasseh in Colwyn Bay

Two men, part of a gang who armed themselves with a sword, an axe and three baseball bats and carried out a “serious and premeditated” attack on a man with a history of mental health problems were today jailed for life .
Stephen Edward Holding, 26, of Greenfield Road, Colwyn Bay and Glyn David Hall, 28, of Conway Road, Colwyn Bay, were said to have played a “leading role” in luring Alieu Jasseh, 23, to a block of flats and then attacking him.
Sentencing both men at Caernarfon Crown Court Judge Merfyn Hughes said he was satisfied they posed a serious risk of harm to the public.
He said: “You carried out a merciless and cowardly attack for which you can now expect to be dealt with severely.”
Wayne Jamie Benjamin Foulkes, 36, and Nicole Jane Geale, 31,  both of Grove Road, Colwyn Bay, were said to have played lesser roles in the attack and were jailed for 10 and six years respectively.

Nicole Geale, 31, of Grove Road, Colwyn Bay, was said to have played a lesser role in the attack and was jailed for six years

Two other gang members, Patrick Wood, 26, of no fixed address and another man remain to be sentenced.
The judge noted Mr Jasseh was involved in the supply of drugs in Colwyn Bay and the attack was to frighten him to stop dealing drugs in the area.
Prosecutor Simon Mills said Mr Jasseh was attacked on March 16 shortly after moving to Colwyn Bay.
He said on that day Mr Jasseh was asked to bring drugs to an address in Bay View Road.
As he arrived in the communal hallway of the flats he heard raised voices on the staircase and saw a number of masked men armed with weapons.
Mr Mills said one man drew a sword from his trousers, another had a large kitchen knife and one carried an axe.
One of the baseball bats was studded with nails.
Bleeding heavily  Mr Jasseh staggered back to a car and was driven away.
Witnesses who lived in the same building had already seen men gathering in the hallway and had called police. They arrived just as the gang ran away.  One was Hall, who was carrying a sword and was chased by police.
Geale was seen on CCTV carrying and discarding a yellow plastic bag in Bay View Road. The court heard this contained the studded bat.
Holding was seen on CCTV removing clothing and dumping them.  Mr Jasseh's blood and Holding's fingerprint were found on a bat. His blood was also found on the studded bat the sword and Geale's tracksuit bottoms.
Mr Mills said the victim had multiple lacerations and needed a skin graft to his leg. He now struggles to walk properly.

Wayne Foulkes, of Grove Road, Colwyn Bay, was said to have played a lesser role in the attack and was jailed for 10 years

Simon Killeen, for Holding, accepted the offence was serious but argued a life sentence was not justified by the evidence.
He added: “He has an unenviable record and when he is eventually released intends to move away from the area.”
Huw Edwards, defending Glyn Hall, said: “He has accepted the part he played in this offence from the outset.”
He too urged the judge not to impose a life sentence.
Maria Masselis, for Foulkes, and Simon Rogers, for Geale, argued their clients played lesser roles in the attack.
Ms Masselis said: “He has convictions for possessing weapons but none involving the use of those weapons.”
Mr Rogers said substance abuse had blighted Geale’s life as well.
He said: “She has previous convictions but none as serious as this."