Jail for Sheffield man who trapped two women in flat and attacked one with baseball bat
A man who trapped two women in a flat and attacked one with a baseball bat has been jailed.
He also threatened to assault the daughter of the woman he was beating, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
Anthony Jones, aged 41, of Duffield Place, Woodseats, had 28 convictions for 46 separate offences on his record when he was sentenced this week.
One was for violence, and there were further offences of harassment and dishonesty listed.
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“On December 5, the defendant’s partner attended the address of the victim,” prosecuting barrister Ella Fornsworth told the court.
“She appeared distressed and presented as frightened.”
Jones’ partner explained to her friend that the defendant was staying in her flat ‘against her wishes’, the court was told.
The women then returned to Jones’ partner’s address, where Jones began demanding money.
“He said people owed drug money to him - he demanded £200,” Ms Fornsworth continued.
Jones proceeded to threaten his partner’s friend with violence, adding that he would do the same to her daughter, ‘but ten times worse’.
He trapped the women inside, taking their phones and began smoking crack cocaine.
“He became increasingly aggressive and tried to pressure both women to also consume drugs,” the barrister added.
“He said they couldn’t leave the flat until the £200 was paid.”
Throughout this ordeal, he punched the friend in the jaw and hit her with a wooden bat.
In a statement from the victim, read out by Ms Fornsworth in court, she explained how she suffered a fractured jaw, lost a tooth and suffered bruising to her chest after being hit with the bat.
“I can’t forget due to the physical pain all the time,” the statement added.
Jones admitted assault and was also sentenced for theft from a motor vehicle, with the court being told that in October 2024 he stole the wheels of a Land Rover Defender in Sheffield, and smashed a window, leading to damage of around £3,000.
As he was serving a community sentence during the time of the offending, Recorder Andrew Walker also had to consider two other offences from 2024, relating to an environmental issue and attempted theft of a vehicle from Northern General Hospital which resulted in around £500 worth of damage.
In mitigation, Richard Adams explained how Jones had been homeless at the time of the earlier offences in 2024.
He explained that Jones had now finally sorted out accommodation, which he would lose if he was forced to spend a prolonged period in prison.
It was also explained that this period on remand since the assault in December had allowed Jones to get clean from drugs and alcohol.
But when passing sentence, the judge described the effects of the assault on Jones’ victim, adding: “She was an outgoing person, but now she doesn’t want to leave her house.
“She feels she can’t live [at her address] anymore and has moved to protect herself.”
Jones was sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment.