Powys trio attacked man outside pub on Christmas Eve

Callum Samuel and brothers Carlos and Dimitri Davies all appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday, June 7, for sentence in relation to a joint assault on Gareth James on December 24, 2022.

Samuel, 22, was on licence at the time of the assault having been released early from a lengthy previous prison sentence, but he has since been recalled and appeared at Friday’s hearing via custody.

He was jailed for four months for his part in the assault on Mr James, but he was told he will not serve any additional prison time; he is due for release in November this year.

Recorder John Powell told brothers Carlos, 23, and Dimitri Davies, 21, that the delay in sentencing had probably helped the duo avoid prison, as the intervening period had given them both a chance to turn their lives around, which he had been impressed by.

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Prosecuting, Matthew Murphy, said the trio all admitted assaulting Mr James, occasioning him actual bodily harm, on April 9 at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court.

“Gareth James was in the Sarah Siddons pub in Brecon from around 4pm on December 24, 2022,” said Mr Murphy.

“He had two pints of Guinness and went outside for a cigarette. The defendants, who are known to him, approached and he thought they were going to strike him with bottles that they were holding.

“They were aggressive in their speech. He heard Dimitri Davies and Carlos Davies say they were going to ‘do him in’.

“He pushed Dimitri Davies, then was punched to the side of the head by Callum Samuel. The defendants then attacked him together; he tried to back away and cover his head.

“The defendants ran off and Mr James went home. He suffered a cut to his eyebrow and had a sore jaw. He attributed the incident to a confrontation he’d had with Jack Samuel, a brother for Callum, a week earlier.

“This was a group activity, with all three defendants playing leading roles.”

Mr Murphy said Carlos Davies had four previous convictions and that younger brother Dimitri had eight previous convictions – including at the time being the subject of a suspended sentence order for causing grievous bodily harm.

Mr Murphy added that Samuel also had eight past convictions, including for drug offences, robbery and assaulting an emergency worker. He said that at the time of this attack Samuel was on licence after being released from prison, having been handed a four-year sentence for various offences in 2021.

Nick Gedge, acting for Dmitri Davies, of Lansdowne Road, Coxhoe, Durham, said his client was a Brecon boy who had moved away from the area after gaining a reputation for “all the wrong reasons”.

Matthew Comer, representing Carlos Davies, said his client had since joined the Army and that his military career would effectively be over were he to receive a prison sentence or community order.

Kirstyn Murphy, acting for Samuel, said her client recognised a prison term was the only realistic outcome.

Judge Powell labelled the attack an “unprovoked assault”.

“Fortunately, Mr James’ injuries were not very severe,” he said.

“He said it was not worth the trouble reporting the incident, considering who the three attackers were; you clearly have or had something of a reputation.

“But your lives have all changed dramatically. Dimitri Davies, you have moved out of the area to Durham. You have changed your ways.

“Carlos Davies, you have taken even more of a dramatic turn and joined the Army. You are policed rather more there than were you still in the community.

“Callum Samuel, you are back in custody and have been for some time. But you are putting something back into the community.

“The delay in the case has served you well as it’s given you the opportunity to make changes in your lives, otherwise you may well have all gone to prison.”

Samuel will serve four months in prison but as he will only serve half of that sentence he will not serve longer than his current period, which expires in November.

The Davies brothers were each fined £500 and told to pay £150 costs, with Dimitri told to pay an additional £50 for breaching the suspended sentence order.