Lewisham policeman attacker jailed for burglary and arson in Bromley (From News Shopper)
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Lewisham policeman attacker jailed for burglary and arson in Bromley
3:49pm Wednesday 5th December 2012 in Bromley By Heloise Wood
Jack Turner
A MAN who left a policeman in a vegetative state seven years ago has been jailed for breaking into a house and starting a fire.
Jack Turner, aged 23, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burglary and arson and was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court to three years in prison.
On the evening of August 2 the owner of a house in Burnt Ash Lane, Bromley, returned home to find the property had been broken into and ransacked with a large burn mark in the middle of the carpet, where a liquid had been poured and set alight.
Turner was identified and arrested after his blood and a fingerprint were found at the scene.
His sentence comes seven years after he carried out a frenzied attack with Lance Samuels on Lewisham PC Daniel Coffill, in Queen's Road, Bromley, in July 2005.
The police officer had been out with friends when he approached one of the youths for spitting at his car.
He was punched in the face by Turner, and fell to the ground unconscious, fracturing his skull, after which point the pair continued to kick him.
Seven years on, Mr Coffill remains in a vegetative state and is unable to walk or talk. His mother gave up her job to become his full-time carer.
After being found guilty of causing GBH with intent in May 2006, Turner was originally sentenced to nine years and Samuels got eight.
When sentencing them in 2006, Judge John Tanzer described the pair as "devoid of the most basic concept of morality".
However, they had their sentences reduced by two years at the Court of Appeal the following year.
Comments(12)
cookster
says...
6:37pm Wed 5 Dec 12
Jim-_-
says...
6:50pm Wed 5 Dec 12
er.co.uk/news/125524
5.shocking_but_this_
is_british_justice_f
or_you/
Speechless.
ksc
says...
6:56pm Wed 5 Dec 12
Marty1979
says...
7:25pm Wed 5 Dec 12
If someone gets convicted for a third crime they do serious time - and not in a holiday camp
jaded1
says...
7:49pm Wed 5 Dec 12
I have noticed that these scumbags don't seem to have their mates on here anymore defending them in badly written threatening posts.Good thing too.
toffeeapple
says...
6:23am Thu 6 Dec 12
We need to ditch the 'Human Rights' of criminals and start dishing justice out like the Americans - as someone quoted above, 3 strikes rule.
Our Judges are so insanely out of touch (or maybe just insane) with public opinion it's scary.
That poor Policeman who, no doubt, worked hard to get where he was for this piece of scum to come and ruin his and his Families hopes and dreams....I am speechless
Anthony1
says...
9:01am Thu 6 Dec 12
Brook
says...
10:14am Thu 6 Dec 12
Anthony1 wrote:Because it was considered self defence
Why didn't he get life for the attack on that policeman.
Marty1979
says...
4:43pm Thu 6 Dec 12
So he was committing serious assault when he was 16
Gypo.Joe
says...
10:30pm Thu 6 Dec 12
ksc
says...
11:07am Fri 7 Dec 12
Marty1979 wrote:Read this, absolutely unbelievable
He's 23 - assault on the policeman was in 2005
So he was committing serious assault when he was 16
http://www.newsshopp
er.co.uk/news/125524
5.shocking_but_this_
is_british_justice_f
or_you/
reasonable75 says...
5:50pm Wed 5 Dec 12
So he'll be out in 18 months or less - but he got longer for starting the fire than for depriving someone of any quality of life
I'd be interested why their sentences were reduced - if they'd done the original stretch then he wouldn't have been able to commit this crime