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Brothers jailed for `brutal and vicious' hammer attack

The brothers were jailed at a hearing at Belfast Crown Court
The brothers were jailed at a hearing at Belfast Crown Court The brothers were jailed at a hearing at Belfast Crown Court

TWO Co Fermanagh brothers who claimed to be loyalist paramilitaries have been sentenced to almost 10 years for a "brutal and vicious'' hammer attack.

Jason Spence (27), from Main Street, Maguiresbridge, was given six years and eight months at Belfast Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to wounding his vulnerable victim with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm.

A judge told Spence, who suffers from paranoid delusions and hallucinations, that he would serve three years and four months in prison.

His younger brother Ivan Spence (25), of Crichton Park, Tamlaght, received three years, with 18 months to spent in custody followed by 18 months on licence.

The court heard the victim was at his Templemore Street flat in east Belfast in the early hours of April 26, 2013, when he answered a knock to his door to three men, one of whom he had recognised meeting at a previous house party.

A prosecution lawyer told Judge Geoffrey Miller QC that Jason Spence followed the victim into the house, claiming he was from the UVF' and started to hit the man with the hammer.

The victim was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital with "significant injuries he received from multiple blows in the sustained attack''.

The prosecutor said the man was found to have "deep lacerations'' to his head and needed 13 staples to the wounds and a further 16 sutures to facial injuries.

The judge was told the Spence brothers fled Northern Ireland ahead of their trial in November 2014 and warrants were issued for their arrest.

They remained on-the-run for 18 months until they were trackecd down to Liverpool before being brought back to Northern Ireland.

Jason Spence, the court heard, was subsequently jailed in March 2016 at Dungannon Crown Court for four years over a stabbing incident.

Defence QC Charles McCreanor told the court that Ivan Spence was "very much on the periphery of these matters'' and now deeply regretted his role.

Passing sentenced, Judge Miller told the Spence brothers: "This was a brutal and vicious attack upon an individual in circumstances in which he could offer little or no meaningful resistance.

"It is not for this court to pass comment on the morality or character of the victim but suffice to say that any alleged criminal conduct should be investigated and where necessary appropriate action should be taken through legitimate law enforcement agencies.

"No court can, or will, condone acts of vigilantism and it is clear that whatever the motivation for the actions of these defendants it was clearly illegal in nature from start to finish.''