by An absurd judge told a pair of thugs why he couldn’t jail them over a bowling alley machete rampage while criticizing their family like an “ITV morning show”. Judge Richard Bond said their age at the time was three years after they had been bailed out of prison.
But he said the unemployed pair, Jason and Mark Joyce – who sparked terror with an unprovoked attack on a family celebrating a birthday – should be working and hoped he “didn’t see him on a night out them ever”. And it did not spare their family who attended proceedings from the public gallery at Birmingham Crown Court.
The judge threatened to kick them if they did not criticize their silence and behavior. He told them: “This is a public court, you have a right to be here. It’s not an ITV morning TV show that the public think they can take part in. You don’t belong in a public court.”
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He then reprimanded an individual for a phone disturbance, adding: “Those are the rules. The court is not yours. If any of you say any more you’re out. It’s that easy really.”
Despite the warning, one man couldn’t contain himself and claimed: ‘If that wasn’t self-defence for me I don’t know what I did’, before walking out of the courtroom. The judge said that the brothers were ‘saved’ from immediate prison due to delays in the proceedings.
And he said the court was forced to sentence them as if they were still 17 years old because of their age at the time of the crime. The judge told the court: “I would do anything I can to put them in custody, I really would, but the guidelines seem to be against that.”
Learning that they were both unemployed, dependent on benefits, and illiterate due to dropping out of school, he continued: “I have kids their age. They go to university. Isn’t the Lucky for them? But, and it’s a big story, While they’re at university, my children work in cafes, bars, in the service industry where they don’t need to read and write.”
The judge questioned why the pair were unable to find work, asking: “Why can’t these men get a job? There are many different jobs available in the service industry, there really are .”
The brothers, now 20 and of Victoria Road in Handsworth, admitted unlawful wounding and Jason also pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and making threats with a bladed member.
The twins were given 18 months; detention, suspended for two years, on Thursday, May 16. The pair, who were both claiming Universal Credit, were ordered to complete 175 hours of unpaid work and attend 40 days of rehabilitation activities.
Mark Joyce was ordered to pay £750 in compensation and Jason was told to pay £1,500. They were sentenced after they terrorized a family birthday party at the Hollywood Bowl after accusing their innocent victims of ‘staring’ at them.
During a verbal exchange near the pool tables at the Rubery location, Jason Joyce threw a punch and brandished a machete. Mark Joyce tried to hit someone with a pool cue but was wrestled to the ground. The pair then threw glasses that hit a man in the face, causing him long-term damage and forcing him to quit his £60,000-a-year job.
CCTV footage captured the beating which unfolded at around 11.30pm on October 30, 2021, as a family celebrating a 30th birthday targeted the brothers’ attack. Simon Phillips, prosecuting, said the defendants ‘turned their attention’ to the family when the bar signaled closing time, and Mark challenged them asking ‘what are you staring at’ ?
The family made it clear they ‘didn’t want any trouble’ but Jason threw an unprovoked punch at one of the men. The victim’s father intervened to pull Jason away from his son, which sparked a brawl. Mark Joyce tried to swing a pool cue, and after a brief absence, Jason returned brandishing a machete.
“It’s almost a miracle no one was hurt by the blade,” said Mr Phillips. The two brothers threw punches and kicks, then started hurling glasses from the bar, one hitting a family member in the face.
The court heard that the Joyces appeared to be laughing as they left the scene. Judge Bond ordered that photographs of the victims’ injuries be displayed on court screens so that the brothers could see ‘what they did’. The younger victim showed a swollen face and black eyes from a broken eye socket and cheekbone.
His father, who suffered a facial glass strike, was clearly disabled and still struggles with vision problems. He said in a statement that he had to quit his £60,000-a-year job, that he had lost his self-confidence, and that the situation was ‘very upsetting and upsetting’.
Defense counsel for the two brothers submitted written pleas to the court, but Judge Bond clarified that neither was required for personal relief as he could not imprison the twins without proper warrant. He expressed his displeasure by saying: “I am completely ashamed of the behavior of these two defendants.”
He continued: “I think one of them thinks it’s appropriate to go out in public with a machete then produce it while drunk.” Despite their limited income of £430 a month on Universal Credit, Judge Bond said they had to pay ‘some compensation’. ‘
Sentencing him, he told them: “That family was lucky to attend the Hollywood Bowl in Rubery. I say lucky because you two attacked them and injured them.
“You are the type of young man that everyone is afraid to meet on a night out because you make them miserable and upset. Young men often say this phrase when trying to show that they are ‘I’m Big’ What are you staring at?
“As soon as you hear those words everyone knows there’s going to be trouble, the boy was in trouble tonight. You caused this trouble despite what your family members think. I blame 100 percent to you both.”
The judge also criticized their actions for scaring ‘middle-aged women’, who would be ‘scared’ by the violence. But he continued: “As tempting as it is for me to impose immediate custodial sentences, I cannot.
“I took an oath to do justice according to what the law says I have to do and that’s what I will do. I have to follow the sentencing guidelines, not only for the specific offenses but also the sentencing guidelines charge on children and young people.”
At first, the brothers and their arms stood across but later resorted to gestures of prayer. Judge Bond said they would have been looking at a prison sentence of two years and eight months if they had been treated as adults, after taking credit for their guilty pleas.
And he told them any breach of their suspended sentences would come back to haunt him, adding: “I hope I never see you again. Not just in court, I hope I never see you on a night out. You’re a nightmare everyone’s worst.”
