Two Kent men who stole a car and assaulted the victim are found guilty

Two Medway men have been found guilty of stealing their friend’s car and beating him up after a drink-fuelled rampage through Rochester.

Ryan Gale and Jamie Henty beat up Daniel Sullivan, who they had known for years, and left him at the roadside as they drove off in his Vauxhall Corsa before crashing it into a wall, Medway Crown Court heard last week.

The incident began when friends Ryan Gale, 30, and Jamie Henty, 32, got into car which was being driven by Daniel Sullivan, their long-time friend.

The prosecutor, Eleanor Scott-Davies, determined that the three were driving around the Rochester area whilst consuming alcohol, with statements suggesting that tensions were high in the car.

Sullivan dropped off Henty of Lodge Hill Lane, Rochester, and Gale, of Diana Close, Sidcup, at a bar and later returned to pick them up, by which point another women had joined them in the car.

Sullivan drove the car to Columbine Road where a fight broke out between himself, Gale and Henty.  

A window of the car was smashed and Henty and Gale proceeded to ‘punch, swing and kick’ at Daniel Sullivan.

Sullivan was knocked to the ground and the two continued to assault him with kicks.

An off-duty police officer, Stephen Convey, of Columbine Road, approached the car at 11.30pm after hearing noise of the commotion outside his house window.

As he approached the car, he heard Sullivan say: “My vehicle has been stolen and I’ve been stabbed.”

Convey was concerned for Sullivan’s safety after seeing him being beaten by Gale and Henty whilst still on the ground.

According to the witness statement, the woman who was in the car mentioned that the police were on their way and Henty and Gale got into Sullivan’s car, which Gale reversed up Columbine Road before speeding off.

Henty told the court that due to an injured leg and fear for his safety, he had no choice but to enter the car. He claimed Sullivan had an axe in the boot of his car and he was worried he would use it.

The pair drove past a parked police vehicle in Chatham which then pursued the stolen car because it was exceeding the speed limit and was driving with no headlights. 

The car crashed into a wall in Chatham Hill and both men were arrested.

After hearing the evidence at Medway Magistrates Court on 10 January, District Judge Leake was satisfied that there was no axe present in the car and this was a false accusation made by Jamie Henty in his defence. He was also satisfied that both Gale and Henty had assaulted Daniel Sullivan.

“It is not in dispute that the vehicle was taken without permission”, the judge concluded.

Judge Leake also noticed that Henty had not been charged for the assault on Sullivan but was satisfied that it had happened and would take it into account.

Henty was given a community order of 250 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within 12 months.

He is also fined £715 which will be deducted from his benefits at £20 a month.

At an earlier hearing, Gale had guilty of aggravated vehicle taking and driving away, dangerous driving, excess alcohol, breaching his criminal behaviour order, and theft. He was sentenced on January 3rd to 14 months in prison for aggravated taking and driving away and 14 months for dangerous driving which would run concurrently as a sentence.

Gale was disqualified from driving for 34 months and his breach of criminal behaviour order meant he was given three months in prison which would run concurrently with the 14 month imprisonment.