A COUPLE of men from Bangor have been jailed and third detained following a “frenzied assault” in the city which caused their victim to require surgery and lose a tooth.

Matthew Roberts, 32, of Caernarfon Road, Bangor; and Sion Roberts, 28 and Daniel Williams-Ellis, 20, both of St Marys House, Love Lane; were sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court today (March 9).

Judge Nicola Saffman issued the following sentences:

  • Matthew Roberts was jailed for four years and nine months.
  • Sion Roberts was jailed for three years and 10 months.
  • Daniel Williams-Ellis was ordered to serve three years and two months in a young offenders’ institution.

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Prosecuting, Ember-Jade Wong told the court that, on April 19, 2022, Arwel Jones was the victim of a “violent assault” at a bus stop in the city centre.

Jones, who had been at the funeral of his brother-in-law at Bangor Crematorium that day, was due to travel with his girlfriend, Kimberley Evans, to her home in Caernarfon.

Evans first saw Matthew Roberts, whom she knew, by a taxi rank, and he was described as being in “good spirits” but “under the influence”.

The three defendants were seen chatting to Evans and Jones, but when Evans left to buy lager from the nearby Aldi supermarket, the assault on her boyfriend ensued.

During the attack, Williams-Ellis punched Jones to the left side of his head, Sion Roberts stamped on Jones’ lower right leg, and Matthew Roberts kicked him to the head.

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In a witness statement, Evans recalled seeing Jones lose a tooth, with “blood everywhere”, and that she saw his eyes roll back and “thought he was dead”.

She described seeing and hearing her partner’s leg snap as he began to scream, and while Ms Wong said the incident was “relatively short-lived”, it was said to have been sustained to such an extent that Evans shouted: “You’re killing him”.

The defendants then ran off, and a “hysterical” Evans tried to wake up Jones, who appeared “dazed and confused”.

After Jones was taken to hospital, Evans provided a witness statement at Bangor Police Station, taking with her Jones’ tooth which she picked up off the floor at the scene.

Jones required surgery after fracturing his right tibia and fibula, while he had also sustained a fracture to his left mandible.

Matthew Roberts, Sion Roberts and Daniel Williams-Ellis had 31, nine and three previous convictions respectively.

Defending Matthew Roberts, Ryan Rothwell said his client involved himself in the assault “right at the end of the incident with a single nasty kick to Mr Jones’ head.

He was said to have not been motivated by revenge and was drunk, with Mr Rothwell adding that all of Matthew Roberts’ previous convictions had also been committed while in drink.

Mr Rothwell said his client was suffering with anxiety and severe depression at the time, and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder has been suggested for him, if not yet formalised.

Represent Sion Roberts, Myles Wilson said he feels “ashamed” and “disgusted” and that repeatedly replays closed-circuit television footage of the incident in his head.

Mr Wilson said despite Sion Roberts’ “fairly poor record”, this behaviour was “out of character” for a man who was living in homeless hostel which had a drugs problem at the time.

Now clean after spending 11 months remanded in custody, Mr Wilson said Sion Roberts wants to make a “fresh start, and move out of Bangor”, having trained as a bricklayer.

Mitigating for Williams-Ellis, Dafydd Roberts said he had a lack of “maturity” and “parental guidance”, and was “easily influenced by others”.

Williams-Ellis was said to have been told by Sion Roberts of something which Jones had previously done to him, and subsequently showed “completely misplaced loyalty to a friend”.

Mr Roberts said Williams-Ellis lost his mother to cancer when he was 14, and that his father would “beat him, and essentially threw him out on the streets”.

He intends to complete his qualifications as a bricklayer upon his release.

Judge Saffman also imposed statutory surcharges on all three defendants, describing the incident as an “appalling and vicious assault”.

She told them: “While short in time, this was a repeated, persistent assault by you as a group.

“Arwel Jones did not support this prosecution. These are big sentences for you as individuals, but do not let them crush you.”