Man avoids jail for drunken Darth Vader attack
Friday, August 15, 2008, 09:00
The force was with Arwel Hughes, aged 27, of Holyhead, on March 25 this year - a little too much force.
He donned a black cape and bin bag and confronted Barney Jones with a metal crutch while Jones and his cousin Michael were filming themselves playing with light sabres.
The duo attained a form of fame in North Wales after national publicity surrounding their church.
Watch video of the incident below
Hughes, who has a chronic alcohol problem, jumped over a garden wall in Holyhead to launch his assault.
He bellowed "Darth Vader" as he hit Barney Jones over the head with the crutch and punched his cousin in the thigh.
At Holyhead Magistrates' Court, Hughes was sentenced to two months in jail suspended for one year.
The court heard he had previous convictions for assault, was drunk when he attacked the duo and did not know anything of it until the authorities called on him.
His solicitor told the court he was doing his best to win his battle with the bottle.
Frances Jones, defending, said: "He is very sorry for coming before the courts.
"He knows his behaviour was wrong and didn't want it to happen, but he has no recollection of it.
"He made an early and timely guilty plea."
Ordering Hughes to pay £100 each to the victims, £60 costs and implementing a supervision order, District Judge Andrew Shaw said: "Perhaps the publicity from the last hearing has been a good thing for you, it was a wake-up call."
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