A man who leapt out of his works van and attacked someone with a hammer in front of terrified schoolchildren has been jailed for 18 months.
Saul Gentles, 31, brandished the weapon and swung it at the victim who was with his partner and their children, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Rhianydd Clement said the shocking incident, which occurred a short distance from a primary school in Selby, was witnessed by two teaching assistants who were walking home from work when they saw a white Transit van driven at speed towards the named man.
The van came to a sudden stop, then Saul Gentles and his brother Joseph Gentles, 33, jumped out of the vehicle and started shouting at the victim.
The female teaching assistants noticed that Saul Gentles, who had been driving the vehicle, was carrying a hammer as he headed towards the victim.
“They said Saul Gentles lifted the hammer and swung it at the victim who jumped out of the way,” added Ms Clement.
She said that children could be heard screaming as Gentles brandished the weapon. He then put the hammer down but approached the victim again, saying he wanted to speak to him.
By this stage, Joseph Gentles had retreated to the van.
Saul Gentles and the victim then began shouting at each other and a brawl ensued.
“Saul Gentles grabbed the victim by the clothes and shook him,” said Ms Clement.
Saul Gentles then got back in his van, reversed it slightly, then “sped it forward towards the victim”.
One of the teaching assistants called police and ushered some children out of the way as Saul Gentles drove off at high speed. He was arrested about three months later but initially denied any wrongdoing.
Joseph Gentles, of Charles Street, Selby, handed himself in to police about a week later but offered no comment about the “disgraceful” incident, which occurred in the middle of the afternoon on 5 October, 2023.
The brothers were each charged with affray, but both initially pleaded not guilty to the charge. They were due to face trial in January but pleaded guilty on the day their case was due to go before a jury.
Saul Gentles, of Flaxley Road, Selby, admitted a separate charge of possessing an offensive weapon. The brothers appeared for sentence yesterday (Friday).
Scared being out
Ms Clement told the court there was a “background” between Saul Gentle’s family and that of the victim who also lived in Selby.
She said the victim and his partner had declined to provide police with a statement, apparently out of “fear of repercussions”.
Saul Gentles had two previous convictions on his record for four offences including threatening behaviour. Joseph Gentles had six previous convictions for ten offences including disorderly behaviour.
The prosecution read out a victim-impact statement from one of the named teaching assistants who said she saw the Gentles brothers “come flying in their van” as she walked home from work.
“I had to safeguard the children present and contact police,” she added.
She had suffered from anxiety since the incident and now felt “scared being out alone in Selby”.
She said the past 18 months had been filled with stress and anxiety because she had been told she would have to give evidence at a trial which ultimately didn’t materialise.
Her colleague, who was also named in court, said she too was “worried about the consequences” of bearing witness to the events of that afternoon.
Defence barrister Lucy Brown, for Saul Gentles, said her client, who had been out at work that day, had mental-health problems stemming from a traumatic childhood.
Zarreen Alan-Cheetham, for Joseph Gentles, said the father-of-two, who was a regular cannabis user at the time, had mental-health problems so serious that he was unable to work.
‘Disgraceful behaviour’
Judge Simon Hickey told Saul Gentles there was no option but to send him straight to jail for brandishing a hammer “in the course of an affray like that, with many children present and teaching assistants and others in the area”.
Describing the behaviour as “disgraceful”, he jailed Saul Gentles for 18 months, of which he will serve less than half behind bars before being released on prison licence.
Mr Hickey said he could “just” spare Joseph Gentles a spell behind bars because of his traumatic background, his mental-health issues, family commitments and the fact that he was not the one carrying a weapon.
Joseph Gentles received a 14-month suspended prison sentence with 20 rehabilitation-activity days.