Rugby man jailed after drunken 'prank' which saw anglers attacked and robbed in the night

A drunken bullying ‘prank’ on two anglers camping by a lake got out of control when it turned to a robbery and an attack which left one of the victims with a broken jaw.
L:R - Crag Williams and Jack Taylor.L:R - Crag Williams and Jack Taylor.
L:R - Crag Williams and Jack Taylor.

Following the incident Jack Taylor was arrested after trying to sell their victim’s phone, with Crag Williams being apprehended just over a week later.

And at Warwick Crown Court they both pleaded guilty to robbing the victim of his phone, and Taylor admitted a further charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

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Taylor (24) of Park Road, Rugby, was jailed for a total of five years, while Williams (22) of Vernons Lane, Nuneaton, was jailed for three years and four months.

Prosecutor Ian Speed said that in June the victim and a friend had been night-fishing in a lake off Queen Elizabeth Road, Nuneaton, and camping by the lake.

At 2.30 in the morning on June 18 they were woken by the defendants, who had been drinking, shaking the tent and shouting.

Williams told them ‘You’re being pranked,’ and when one of the young men emerged from the tent, Williams punched him and tried to throw him into the lake.

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They struggled and slipped down the bank, and Williams threatened to stab him if he fell in, although Mr Speed pointed out that no knife was seen or produced.

That young man ended up in the lake, with water up to his knees, as Williams told him to say something as he tried to record him on his phone.

Meanwhile Taylor had turned his attention to the other young man, punching him before being handed his i-Phone.

They were then told the ‘prank’ was over, and Williams held out his hand to help the first victim out of the lake – only for Taylor to then punch him, breaking his jaw.

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Taylor refused to let him call for an ambulance and threatened the other young man with violence if he told anyone what had happened.

Later that day Taylor went into a Nuneaton phone shop and tried to sell the i-Phone - but the manager was suspicious because he was only asking £50 for it, so declined the offer.

Just minutes later police officers turned up at the shop making enquiries about the phone, and the manager was able to point Taylor out to them.

He made no comment when he was arrested, but when Williams was arrested a few days later, he said there had been an altercation between Taylor and ‘the tall guy,’ and his phone was taken to prevent him calling the police.

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Mr Speed added that their injured victim has said the incident has led to him losing his main hobby because he no longer has the confidence to go fishing at night.

Sentencing the two, Judge Peter Cooke said custodial sentences were inevitable – and that Taylor’s 15-month sentence for inflicting grievous bodily had to be consecutive to the three years and nine months he was given for the robbery.