Three violent intruders broke into a home in Cornwall and used a taser and a baseball bat on a family man who confronted them in his kitchen.
Jason Paget and two accomplices, who have never been caught, entered the family home on September 10, 2020, and stole a wallet from a table. When the victim confronted them, they cornered him in his kitchen, tasered him, and struck him more than 20 times with a baseball bat and a cosh.
When the man's son came downstairs to find out what the commotion was about, the raiders ran off.
Paget, an Irishman, then bit the family's neighbour on the chest as the neighbour tried to stop him, before being arrested by Devon and Cornwall Police. In a police interview, he falsely claimed that his victim, at the home on Chester Road in Newquay, had been selling drugs to his son.
He was charged with aggravated burglary of a dwelling and causing actual bodily harm, to which he eventually pleaded guilty.
The 39-year-old was granted conditional bail by police, but he travelled back to Ireland where, a year later, he committed a similar aggravated burglary and served just under five years in prison.
A sentencing hearing at Truro Crown Court this week (August 18) heard of the deep, long-lasting and devastating impact the incident has had on Paget's victims. They felt they could no longer stay in Cornwall for their own safety and moved out of the county as a result.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, the wife of Paget's victim, who witnessed the attack on her husband, said the incident had been traumatic. This was compounded by Paget being granted bail and disappearing back to Ireland, which led her family to believe the case had been forgotten by police.
She said her family moved to Newquay in 2017 but left the county again as a result of the violent invasion of their home.
She said: "We built a home that we were proud of. Our daughter was happy and settled. We felt safe but that day took all of that away.
"After the attack I didn't leave my home for six weeks. I feared they would come back. We were just a normal family leading an honest life."
She added: "As a result of what happened my husband is a shadow of the man he once was."
She said it has had an impact on their marriage too. She added: "We have been blessed with four grandchildren who bring me joy. They're my reason for me not to give up."
Her husband, who was violently attacked by Paget, said cooking in the kitchen and entertaining friends had been a pleasure, but now 'the kitchen' is associated with the violence he endured six years ago.
He said it has had an impact on his physical and mental health and he now suffers from memory losses, adding: "It has ruined my life."
The neighbour who was bitten by Paget said the incident had made him paranoid especially as two of the people involved had got away.
The court heard that Paget has two convictions for five offences, including two for aggravated burglary in 2003 and 2011, and again for aggravated burglary in August 2021 in Dublin.
His barrister said he had been a Class A drug user at the time of the Newquay burglary, and the long delay had a negative impact on him. He is no longer the same man he was in 2020 and is now free of drugs.
"He has reflected on his offending," his barrister told the court. "He wants to express his remorse. He is sorry. This was the effect of the drugs on him. He now has a supportive family around him and character references show a different man who is able to have a positive relationship with family members.
"He has physical health issues which will make his stay in prison more difficult than it has been before."
Drugged Attacker Tasered and Beat Man in Newquay Burglary