Road rage thug loses appeal over brutal baseball bat attack
A road rage thug who smashed another motorist in the face with a baseball bat has been told his nine-year jail term was not a day too long.
Imran Rashid, 36, tailed builder, Ali Yanai, and subjected him to an ordeal of 'bullying' driving.
He proceeded to break Mr Yanai's eye socket and cheekbone with the bat while the victim waited stationary at a roundabout.
Rashid, of Woodcock Lane, Northfield, Birmingham, was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court in May last year.
He pleaded guilty to threatening another with an offensive weapon and damaging property, and was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
He was also banned from driving for six and a half years.
Judges at London's Criminal Appeal Court heard his lawyers argue that his sentence and driving ban were far too tough.
The court heard Rashid began a sinister game of 'cat and mouse' with his victim in December 2015.
He became irate because he was delayed briefly by Mr Yanai completing a manoeuvre in his car.
He followed his victim for some distance, repeatedly blocking his way and eventually got out of his car brandishing a baseball bat.
Mr Yanai got out of his own car and managed to 'usher' Rashid back to his vehicle.
But soon afterwards, as the builder waited at a roundabout, Rashid got out of his car again and approached unseen from behind.
He struck Mr Yanai a heavy blow to the side of his face with the bat through the open driver's window of his car.
He hit him several more times with the bat before Mr Yanai, who had by then got out of his car, wrested it from him and restrained him until police could arrive.
Mr Yanai had to undergo surgery to repair his facial bones and had three metal plates inserted into his cheek.
Lawyers for Rashid today argued his sentence should not have been increased on the basis that the victim was 'vulnerable'.
The offence involved 'a unique set of features which were unlikely to be repeated,' the judges were told.
It was also pointed out that, at the time, Rashid's wife had recently told him she was divorcing him.
"Because of the breakdown of his marriage, his behaviour at that time was not what could be expected of this man throughout his life," his barrister, Philip Brunt, said.
But, dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Sweeney said: "The victim was defenceless in his car and couldn't fight back.
"He was snuck up on from behind and didn't see it coming.
"This was a classic road rage incident, a sustained incident during which there was an escalation of behaviour, leading to a pre-meditated and vicious attack on a victim who effectively could do nothing about it at the time.
"The judge was entitled to take into account the whole picture. Overall the sentence was one which was within the appropriate range," he concluded.
The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Simon and Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC, also dismissed the appeal against the driving ban, saying it was 'right in principle'.
