A thug who beat an elderly woman when she told him to watch his language after he verbally abused her for driving too slowly was jailed for 16 weeks yesterday.
Usman Yasin, 30, left terrified Patricia Pearson, 81, with horrific injuries following the road-rage attack in June this year.
She suffered cuts to her forehead, lips and cheek and told police the attack had left her feeling ‘vulnerable’.
Remarkably, Yasin had claimed that the pensioner attacked him and told officers he had been acting in self-defence
But JPs rejected his claim and he was jailed for 16 weeks – after a trial at Burton Magistrates Court found him guilty of common assault.
Jailing Yasin, chair of the bench Dorothy Pegg said she and her fellow JPs felt that had no choice but to impose a custodial sentence.
She said: “For this offence of assault we take in to account the effect that this has had on Mrs Pearson.
“She was once strong-minded but she is now scared and vulnerable and was terrified by the attack.
“The offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence is justified.”
The court did not order Yasin, from Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs., to pay any costs or compensation to the victim.
Yasin, who had been on bail, looked stunned as two prison officers entered the court room before escorting him in to custody.
The court heard that the fast food delivery driver had become incensed when he became stuck behind Mrs Pearson – who had been driving to visit her husband in a care home.
He pulled in front of her and braked sharply, before Mrs Pearson got out her car and approached the passenger side of his Peugeot 206.
The court heard she opened the car door and was met with a torrent of abuse from the defendant.
Mrs Pearson leaned in to cover Yasin’s mouth to stop him using foul language towards her, causing him to lash out.
Prosecutor Michael Taylor said: “The defendant called her a ‘stupid f***ing bitch’ and ‘an old cow’.
“She was incensed by it and leaned in to the car, leaned forward and put the palm of her hand to his face, mouth and nose.
“She said ‘mind your language’.
“A witness saw him deliver a back-handed slap to Mrs Pearson which appeared to connect with considerable force.
“Her glasses were thrown 15-20 feet down the road.
“She then felt two scratches down her face which started bleeding.”
The court heard a victim impact statement from Mrs Pearson, from Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs., in which she described the devastating effect of the attack
She said: “The attack left me feeling scared and vulnerable.
“I have always been a strong person but was terrified when this man attacked me.
“There was no need for him to attack me and no way to do so in the way he did.”
The incident occurred on All Saints Road in Burton on June 17 at around 2pm.
