'˜Paralytic' Leeds student's attack left man partially blind
International business studies Sam Kalati repeatedly punched Bruno Horatio in the face at the Plaza student halls of residence where both were living in flats, Leeds Crown Court heard.
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Hide AdSports therapy student Mr Horatio, 20, was in a coma for 24 hours and has permanently lost the majority of vision in his left eye as a result of the attack.
He had hoped to join the university rugby team, but can longer play the game due to loss of vision.
The court heard Mr Kalati, 20, was captured on CCTV crawling out of a lift before laying down on the 10th floor at the Claypit Lane halls of residence in the early hours of February 3.
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Hide AdProsecutor Richard Walters said Mr Horatio tried to help Mr Kalati, who attacked him, adding: “He punched Mr Horatio, grabbed him in a headlock and started to punch him repeatedly in the face.”
Kalati told a probation officer he had been on a night out and had mixed drinks, but doesn’t know if he took drugs.
Kalati, of Gunnersbury Avenue, North Circular, London, admitted grievous bodily harm.
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Hide AdMitigating Shahid Rashid, said Kalati was “paralytic” at the time of the attack and later told police: “I am completely disgusted with what I have done to that poor guy.”
Jailing Kalati for 18 months, recorder Toby Wynn told him: “Our society faces a cancer of mindless drunken violence that has devastating consequences on individuals and families.”
Recorder Wynn added: “People need to be deterred from inflicting this mindless violence.”
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Hide AdDetective Inspector James Entwistle, of Leeds District Police, said after the sentencing hearing: “The victim was a completely innocent party who saw Kalati collapsed and went to his aid and was attacked for no reason. As a result he has been left with a life-changing injury that has seriously affected his future.
“We hope the prison sentence Kalati has received will serve as a stark reminder to others of the serious penalties they can face if they engage in mindless violence such as this.”
Mr Horatio said after the hearing that he has had to start the first year of his sports course again.