Funfair heir who ran over man in 'heinous' act has jail term extended
The heir to Wolverhampton's Harry Jones Fun Fair who knocked down his colleague must stay longer in jail after his sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal.
Harry Jones Junior was jailed for 10 years at Wolverhampton Crown Court in July after being found guilty by a jury of one count of grievous bodily harm with intent.
Following an appeal the term has now been increased by four years after the Solicitor General referred his original sentence for being unduly lenient under the circumstances.
The victim, Daniel Tulley, was left with severe head and brain injuries after he was struck by a Range Rover containing Jones and three other men on November 4, 2019 in Clayhanger Road, Brownhills near Walsall.
Jailing Jones after the jury's verdict, Judge Rhona Campbell said she was minded to sentence on the lower end of the scale for the offence due to his contribution to society and the fact it was out of character based on his record.
But the Court of Appeal disagreed with her assessment of the guidelines and has now extended the term.
The court heard that Jones had fallen out with Mr Tulley and the pair arranged a fight over social media. Mr Tulley had messaged the defendant offering to fight in front of a crowd with a £10,000 purse with Jones, aged 31, of Cradley Heath.
On the day of the incident Jones drove to Mr Tulley’s Bloxwich home where he threatened his partner before tracking down the victim to Clayhanger Road where the incident culminated in the victim being struck by a car and thrown off the bonnet.
The defendant then fled the scene without checking on Mr Tulley who was in need of emergency brain surgery.
He spent more than a month in hospital and has been left with serious long-term injuries.
The Solicitor General, Michael Tomlinson KC MP, said: "Harry Jones may have been a respectable local businessman, but his actions that day were utterly deplorable. His personal dispute with Daniel Tulley has left him with severe long-term injuries which will impact his life forever.
"The court also took a dim view of Harry Jones’ heinous actions and have increased his prison term, sending a stark warning that leaving someone for dead has serious consequences."
At a hearing this week the Court of Appeal increased Jones’s sentence to 14 years imprisonment after the case was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The trial heal in July head that when Jones arrived at the home of Mr Tulley's partner, he was ‘red in the face’ and that it was clear to her something bad was going to happen.
Witnesses to the collision described him as driving on the wrong side of the road at speed before ploughing into Mr Tulley, who was described as sticking to the car like Velcro. The Range Rover travelled some distance before coming to a stop.
Mr Tulley ended up in intensive care for a month until just before Christmas 2019 and has required long term in patient treatment.
