Two men have been jailed for a total of 26 years for setting a York man on fire.
Joshua Anthony Strickland, 29, of no fixed address, and Robinson Peter Fitch Binks, 27, of Clarence Street, York, were both found guilty last November of causing grievous bodily harm.
Police were called in the early hours of 19 April last year from a man in considerable pain and screaming that he had been set on fire.
Emergency services went to the address in Fossway and took the victim to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment to burns and blistering.
York Crown Court heard that Strickland and Binks had gone to the victim’s house at about 12.30 and without warning “sprayed him with what he believed to be lighter fluid or flammable fluid”, prosecutor Brooke Morrison said.
“The spray hit him on the back and side and he was then set on fire.”
As the man retreated from the pair, they followed him around the room and continued to spray lighter fuel on him, “laughing with one another as they did so”. They then left the flat as the man “ran out into the street, screaming”.
Luckily, he was spotted by a neighbour who poured water on him and the emergency services were called. Police and an ambulance arrived and took the man to hospital where he turned up “screaming and writhing” in pain.
He had suffered 60 per-cent burns to his torso. The burns had penetrated beneath his skin.
He was treated for the burns and blistering and suffered some skin loss to his back and shoulder.
Strickland and Binks went on the run for several days after the offence, sparking a major manhunt.
They were arrested after a vehicle they were travelling in was stopped by officers in York.
Following their arrest, Strickland, whose last registered address was a hotel in Eboracum Way, and Binks, of Clarence Street, York, claimed they weren’t at the flat when the man was attacked and “provided a completely different location as to where they were” at the time of the incident.
Strickland ultimately admitted three further offences of witness intimidation, criminal damage and carrying an offensive weapon which occurred four days after the corrosive-substance attack at the flat.
He admitted going to the home of the victim’s father in York and using a hammer to damage the side windows of the latter’s car on his driveway.
He warned the father that the victim would be subject to more violence if he went ahead with the prosecution for the attack inside the flat.
He was also charged and convicted of assaulting a police officer after becoming aggressive while in police custody and kicking an officer in the face.
Both men were remanded in custody since being arrested last April.
Strickland and Binks appeared for sentence at York Crown Court today (Tuesday) when judge Simon Hickey, who had initially considered life sentences, told the two men they had subjected the victim to a “horrific, shocking” attack.
Strickland was given a 10-year jail sentence and was told he would have to serve an extended four-period on prison licence upon his eventual release from custody.
Binks received an eight-year jail sentence with an extended four-year period on prison licence upon his eventual release.
Both men were told they would have to serve two-thirds of their sentences behind bars before being considered for parole.
Detective Sergeant Michele Fawcett of North Yorkshire Police’s Major Investigation Team, said: “This was a particularly shocking incident and could have been catastrophic for the victim.
“While it is rare for this type of crime in York and North Yorkshire, nonetheless it has caused considerable alarm and concern among the local community who I would like to thank for their cooperation, patience and understanding while we investigated the incident.
“Strickland and Binks now have time in prison to reflect on their actions and should take every chance they are given to divert themselves away from a life of criminality.”