A railway engineer who left a man with life-changing brain damage was acting in fear and shock when he threw a punch and “pushed” out with his shoeless foot, a jury was told.
Buster Lakey, who was on trial this week accused of causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) to Mark Hughes with intent, lashed out after a glass “object” was thrown at his car, shattering his windscreen.
He was cleared by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court today – but having earlier admitted the lesser offence of inflicting GBH was warned by a judge that he still faces a prison sentence when he is sentenced next month.
The court was told Lakey had been on his way to pick up his unwell partner and their three-month-old child at the time of the incident and, having got out of his vehicle to assess the damage, he then approached the man responsible – Mr Hughes – to remonstrate with him.
Lakey, of Manston Road, Margate, was annoyed but sober, while the victim, known as Curly, was intoxicated and smelt strongly of alcohol.
One of Mr Hughes’s friends with him that night later confirmed in a statement to police that a whisky tumbler had been lobbed deliberately at the car and over a distance of about 24ft.
The victim was also described to jurors as being the aggressor, making a grab for Lakey’s neck, gritting his teeth, refusing to pay for the damage and appearing to be goading in the “fast-moving” incident.
Lakey’s first punch, said by his lawyer Satya Chotalia to have been delivered on the spur of the moment and when “scared of imminent attack”, caused Mr Hughes to fall backwards.
But, once back to his feet and without injury, it was alleged by the prosecution that an “extremely irate” Lakey, wearing tracksuit bottoms tucked into socks, then kicked Mr Hughes before landing a second punch that caused him to fall to the ground unconscious and hit his head on the pavement.
Mr Hughes was said to have suffered “long-term cognitive and physical impairments to a severe degree” as a result of the incident in Ramsgate shortly after 9pm on November 4, 2022.
But although Lakey accepted he “lost his rag” and threw the second punch – and had pleaded guilty to the less serious charge – he denied ever intending the serious injury that resulted.
The court heard he also maintained that he did not kick Mr Hughes but “pushed” him with his foot.
With regards to the final punch and its consequences, Lakey told the jury he felt “horrible”.
“I didn’t think from a punch to the side of the head he would fall and hit his head on the pavement,” he added.
He also explained that he had assumed the sound of that impact had been made by a hand and not Mr Hughes’s head.
Summing up the evidence today at the end of the prosecution and defence cases, Recorder Daniel Stevenson said that having got out of his car, an “annoyed and angry” Lakey asked “What the f*** did you do that for?”, to which the victim replied: “What the f*** you going to do about it?”
The first punch was thrown when 6ft 4in Lakey “felt threatened” and thought Mr Hughes was going to strangle him, the judge explained.
Having then got back to his feet, Mr Hughes was heard to say “Is that all you got?”.
Referring to Lakey’s account of the build-up and delivery of the second punch, the judge continued: “Mr Lakey said Mr Hughes seemed more aggressive and had a hand in his pocket.
“He didn’t know if he was going to pull something out. Mr Lakey said Mr Hughes should pay and offered to take him to a cash machine.
“He (Mr Hughes) initially accepted but then “switched up” and Mr Lakey thought he was not getting anything.
“Mr Lakey agreed that Mr Hughes did say ‘F*** you, I’ve already said I’m sorry’ or something like that, but Mr Lakey didn’t think he meant it because he was still angry and had his hand in his pocket.
“Mr Lakey accepts he became angry and punched him the final time. He agreed he called Mr Hughes a ‘daft f***ing c***’.
“He said he didn’t know he would knock him unconscious and cause him to fall to the pavement.”
The jury was also told that Lakey described that second punch as being as hard as the first one.
“He told you he never intended Mr Hughes to be the way he is now or ever intended to cause him really serious harm,” continued Recorder Stevenson.
“He never thought this would happen in the way it has when he punched Mr Hughes. He says he feels horrible.
“He says he drove away and didn’t notice what condition Mr Hughes was in.”
The court also heard that a taxi driver parked a few feet away from the altercation at the junction of King Street and Boundary Road told police Mr Hughes looked to be “going towards” Lakey when he was hit for the second time.
The defendant, now a dad of two with no previous convictions and only a caution of possessing a class C drug, was described in several “exemplary” character references read to the jury as a “kind, caring, hard-working, generous and devoted father and friend”.
Royal Navy logistics officer Lieut. Alex Storey wrote how in their 15 years of friendship, Lakey was known to “show great moral courage in the face of adversity” and was an “upstanding member of society”.
Another spoke of his “calm presence” and having never been seen to act with aggression, while pal Ethan Mehmet said Lakey was an “excellent role model with a heart of gold”.
“The incident is not like Buster at all,” he added. “I, like many others, only know him as the good mate he is.”
He is a person of value and I believe he has the ability to reflect and contribute positively to society…
Paramedic and lecturer Nikitta Allen wrote how Lakey had helped her while suffering from work-related PTSD and was “a constant pillar of support”.
Referring to the incident and resulting prosecution, she added: “While I don’t intend to minimise the seriousness of the situation, I think it’s important to consider his overall character and the positive impact he has had on family, friends and work colleagues.
“He is a person of value and I believe he has the ability to reflect and contribute positively to society.”
At the time of the assault, Lakey was living with his grandmother and uncle, himself brain-damaged.
Mr Chotalia said while his client, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s, had accepted he was not acting in self-defence when he landed the second punch, his intent was not to seriously injure Mr Hughes, his behaviour was “out of character”, and he was genuinely remorseful.
The jury retired at about 12.30pm and returned 90 minutes later to deliver their unanimous not guilty verdict.
But, despite being cleared of the more serious offence, Recorder Stevenson warned Lakey he still faced a prison sentence when he returns to court to be punished for causing GBH to Mr Hughes.
Adjourning the case until October 24, the judge told him: “The consequences of your actions were breathtakingly severe and it certainly looks from the information I’m provided with they will last for the rest of Mr Hughes’s life.
“I must emphasise that the fact I’m adjourning for a pre-sentence report and releasing you on bail is by no means an indication of the sentence you will receive, and you must expect to receive an immediate custodial sentence.”
Recorder Stevenson also praised the dignity shown by Mr Hughes’s family, particularly when having to view the CCTV and phone footage which captured the incident.
