Teenager left young mother needing dentures after Brownhills Tesco attack
A teenager who knocked a woman’s teeth out in a “despicable” attack has been sent to a young offenders institution for two years and nine months.
Demitri Verley, who had previous convictions, attacked a woman outside the Tesco superstore on Silver Street in Brownhills on September 21 last year, a judge heard.
The victim, now aged 26, had visited the store with friends intending to withdraw money from the cashpoint at 8.30pm, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
She headed into the store and withdrew the money, before heading outside to find a group of “nine or 10” teenagers outside, said Mr Ian Bell, prosecuting.
The woman heard a male voice to her left call her a “dirty s**g”, and turned around to confront him – which led to Verley rushing toward her, performing a “flying kick”.
The kick did not connect, but the then-17-year-old hit her in the face with enough force to knock out four of her teeth.
She stepped away after the attack, thinking her lip had burst, but her friend – who was screaming due to the amount of blood – told her that her teeth were missing.
Now the victim has been forced to wear dentures, and has to have most of her food cut up.
She has two young children who scream and are frightened at her appearance without her dentures in, the court heard.
The victim initially searched for 45 minutes to find her missing teeth with her friends, but was unsuccessful.
The defendant was tracked down after officers recognised him from the store’s CCTV footage on October 9.
The victim’s impact statement, which was read out by the prosecution, said: “The offence has changed my life forever.
"As a result, I no longer go out and my own self-confidence is terrible. I hate the way it’s made me look.”
Mr Oliver Woolhouse, defending, said the now-18-year-old had not re-offended since the crime and has “matured” to a degree by looking for work.
He lost his job as an apprentice electrician once his employer found out about his previous convictions but he had since gone on to study plumbing.
Verley, of Penine Way in Willenhall, was sentenced to two years and nine months in a young offenders institution after admitting grievous bodily harm with wounding. It was reduced from 44 months to 33 in credit for pleading guilty early.
Judge Barry Berlin, who passed sentence, said: “It’s not a life-threatening injury, I accept that, but it’s a life-changing injury and she has to live with that.
“In my mainly unequivocal view, this is an utterly despicable attack.”
