A violent mugger who ordered his dogs to attack an Asian taxi driver by shouting “kill him, kill him” after hurling racist abuse has been jailed for eight years.
Guy Wallace, 20, used his Alsatian and Staffordshire bull terrier as “weapons” to maul Sajid Hussain and was also overheard shouting: “Go get him boy” before robbing the victim of his takings.
Mr Hussain suffered multiple bites to his body during the attack and feared for his life as Wallace also shouted a torrent of racial abuse, which was heard by witnesses, and threatened to stab him with a machete. Mr Hussain could have done with legal support from personal injury attorneys Grandview way for advice and representation for his injuries suffered from the attack.
The victim was left covered in blood with “shocking” injuries, including a brain bleed and a smashed nose and eye socket. He also had £120 snatched from a pocket and his mobile phone taken.
Father-to-be Wallace, from Accrington, Lancashire, who has a record for violence, was caught after a witness to the horrifying attack on May 17 recognised him on Facebook as he posed for pictures with the two dogs.
At Burnley Crown Court Wallace admitted robbery and being the owner of a dog which caused injury whilst dangerously out of control in a public place. The German Shepherd, which was thought to have been trained to respond to orders to kill, was ordered to be destroyed.
Violent assault
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Prosecutor Robert Elias told the hearing how Mr Hussain, who worked at Max Cabs in Accrington, finished his shift at 2.30am, parked his car outside his base and started to walk home.
He walked past Wallace’s flat and as he did so heard a voice shout: “Kill him, kill him.” He looked up and saw Wallace with his Alsatian and was pointing towards Mr Hussain and goading the animal to become aggressive. A fierce-looking German Shepherd then ran at the victim, biting the top of his thigh and knocking him to the ground.
Mr Elias said Wallace ran over and began to kick Mr Hussain to the head and body whilst he was on the ground. The victim was trying to protect himself as the dog was still biting him.
The prosecutor said: “He was in fear of his life and the risk on the ground of a dog biting you is obvious.”
The prosecutor added that a second, younger dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier, then joined in and bit Mr Hussain near his left shin.
The victim managed to get up and staggered back to the taxi office. CCTV showed him returning to the road where the base was. At the far end of the road, the dogs and the defendant could be seen attacking him and a man seemed to be pulling Wallace off the victim.
Mr Elias continued: “It’s clear the complainant was pursued by two dogs. He alerted the men working in the office. They came to his rescue and called the police. The dogs pursued him when he tried to escape.”
Wallace tried to grab Mr Hussain’s mobile phone and took £120 from the victim’s jacket pocket, ripping his clothes.
The prosecutor continued: “The defendant was seen by witnesses to be bouncing around as if under the influence of drunk or drugs. He was heard by Mr Hussain and other witnesses to shout foul racial abuse at him and the other men.”
The prosecutor said Mr Hussain’s injuries were “quite shocking” – his right eye was bruised and shut and he had bite marks to his legs. He was taken to hospital, where the acute surgical team examined him and gave him a tetanus injection and intra-venous antibiotics,
Alcohol
A CT scan showed he had a brain bleed and fractures to his nose and eye socket. He was admitted and later referred to a maxillofacial consultant.
Wallace was later arrested but claimed the Alsatian escaped and he told Mr Hussain to calm down as he was panicking. He denied any racial comments and robbery.
The prosecutor added: ‘One of the witnesses recognised the defendant as he went to school with him and recognised him on Facebook.’
Mr Elias said a police officer who went to see the German Shepherd considered it to be completely out of control and extremely frightening. The other dog “could be salvaged” and the RSPCA could be given custody of it and try and retrain and re-home it if they chose to.
Jonathan Dickinson, defending Wallace, whose girlfriend is due to give birth in December, said his client had “a lot of alcohol which almost certainly disinhibited him.”
Mr Dickinson added: “This is certainly not a carefully conceived plan to rob the unfortunate victim. He committed an offence which was horrific, but unplanned and reckless. Once sober the following day, he couldn’t understand why he had acted in the way he did. He realises alcohol has a very negative impact on his behaviour and he’s trying to get himself help. He says he has severed contact with his criminal associates. He appears to be committed and motivated to change his ways.”
But passing sentence the judge Mr Recorder Peter Atherton said: “It as a terrifying incident for Mr Hussain. It has been severely disturbing for him. Your dog was clearly your main weapon of attack. The robbery was incidental to the gratuitous violence which preceded it.”
