AFTER going out to celebrate a win in the ring, a semi-professional boxer landed another knock-out punch – on a young man in a Coventry night club.
And now Christopher Clarke will not be looking at his future through the ropes of a boxing ring, but the bars of a prison cell, after being jailed for a total of 14 months.
Clarke (27) of Henley Road, Coventry, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to escaping from custody, having earlier admitted charges of assault and the theft of police handcuffs.
Prosecutor Graeme Simpson said that on December 10 last year Clarke, a semi-professional boxer, won a bout, after which he and some friends went to Jumpin Jaks night club in Coventry.
Tyler Williams was also there with a group of his friends, and at around 2am there was an altercation between the two groups, during which one of Clarke’s friends threw a bottle.
“Shortly after that, Clarke strode up to Mr Williams and punched him squarely in the face, after which he was taken to hospital and found to have a broken nose.”
Clarke was not caught for the assault until May 11 when he was spotted in a shop and was arrested and handcuffed.
But as he was being led out of the shop, he broke free and escaped, getting away despite being in handcuffs and the police giving chase.
Mr Simpson said the handcuffs were later recovered from a Cyrenians hostel where Clarke had been staying.
He was finally recaptured on September 26 when the police lay in wait for him when he turned up to sign on for his benefits, and he was arrested after a short chase in the building.
The court heard that Clarke had previous convictions for common assault and battery, and in 2013 had been jailed for two-and-a-half years for robbery.
Christopher Jones, defending, said: “He’s been in custody since the 27th of September, and he knows he is at very high risk of going back to custody today.”
And Deputy Judge Richard Griffith-Jones confirmed: “With his capacity with regard to his training, I cannot avoid a custodial sentence for the assault.”
Mr Jones conceded that Clarke could ‘pack a punch because of his training,’ and the judge commented: “He is always likely to hurt someone if he hits them.”
Having handed in in a number of references, Mr Jones said that Clarke was ‘valued highly’ for the contribution he makes by helping out at the Valley House Association, which assists disadvantaged youngsters.
The judge accepted: “In normal circumstances he’s a self-disciplined and courteous young man who would be a model person to have around such a venture.”
Clarke was jailed for eight months for the assault, with a consecutive six-month term for escape – and no separate penalty for the theft of the handcuffs.
Judge Griffith-Jones told him: “It is no pleasure to have to give you a custodial sentence, but I am afraid that for the assault on Williams, that is what I’m compelled to do.
“You have got a bad record for violence. It is a shame, because in many ways you have got a very respectable side to your character.
“It is not just your ability as a boxer that impresses me, but that you are prepared to train to become good at it, which says something for your brain as well as your body.
“But with that training comes a responsibility not to hit people unless you are in the ring with them, because you can do them an injury.”
