Father and son from Long Sutton escape jail after Christmas Day attack

A father and his son who attacked their neighbors on Christmas Day have been spared an immediate prison sentence.

Jason Hutchinson, 51, and Owen Hutchinson, 18, were involved in a violent argument after someone from their home on Anfield Road in Long Sutton was suspected of scratching a neighbour's car.

Lincoln Crown Court heard that the Hutchinsons' neighbour, Jason Reeve, returned home from a family visit on Christmas Day to find his car had been damaged.

The court heard that the doorbell footage apparently showed two women coming out of the Hutchinsons' house and walking toward Mr Reeves' Ford Fiesta.

The court was told that Mr Reeve became “understandably angry” and responded by going to the Hutchinsons' house and saying he wanted to smash his neighbour's windows.

As the situation escalated, Owen Hutchinson was heard saying that Mr. Reeve was “going to get it,” and he armed himself with a metal bar and started hitting the roof of his neighbor's porch.

Mr Reeve retreated to his own property, at which point Jason Hutchinson arrived home and got into an altercation with Mr Reeve's partner, Hayley Ewers, punching her in the face.

The court was told that Mr Reeve picked up a plastic baseball bat which he kept by his front door, but was dragged outside and beaten with the metal bar.

Mr Reeve “ran away in fear” but was caught by Jason Hutchinson, who repeatedly kicked and punched him.

Another neighbor who witnessed the attack said he thought “Jason Hutchinson was trying to kill Mr. Reeve.”

Miss Ewers' son, Benjamin Murray, was also attacked after he saw Jason Hutchinson hitting his mother.

The court heard that Mr Murray saw Owen Hutchinson with the metal bar and received two blows, including one to the head, during the altercation.

The victim impact statements of Jason Reeve and Benjamin Murray were read in court.

They confirmed that Mr Reeve had suffered an eight centimetre long cut on the left side of his head and that Mr Murray had also suffered a cut to his scalp.

As a result of the incident, the family also received a new home.

Jason Hutchinson, 51, and Owen Hutchinson, 18, both admitted on December 25, 2022, to two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Jason Reeve and Benjamin Murray.

Jason Hutchinson also pleaded guilty to a single count of assault on Hayley Ewers and Owen Hutchinson admitted possessing an offensive weapon.

The court heard that Jason Hutchinson had suffered from a complex form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since childhood, which was confirmed by a psychiatric report submitted to the court.

John McNally, Jason Hutchinson's defense attorney, said he was a hard-working father of several children and had not been in court for 20 years.

Mr McNally told the court Jason Hutchinson was not involved in the incident at the start of the incident and argued that he could be dealt with on a suspended sentence.

“It's all gotten completely out of hand,” Mr McNally added. “Regardless of what is right or wrong, this should not have happened.”

“Jason Hutchinson came back to an incident where he took the side of his family.”

The court heard that Owen Hutchinson had no previous convictions.

Chris Jeyes, mitigating for Owen Hutchinson, said he was only 16 at the time of the incident and was not involved in the second part of the violence.

Mr Jeyes told the court that Owen Hutchinson was also not involved in the car incident and admitted he “overreacted” after threats were made to smash his family's windows.

“This was an absolutely isolated case,” added Mr Jeyes.

Sentencing on Monday (17 June), Judge James House KC said sentencing had been difficult and the woman who scratched Mr Reeves' car bore much of the responsibility for the incident.

“On the face of it, this was a violent incident between neighbours on Christmas Day 18 months ago, in which, as is often the case at Christmas, alcohol was involved,” observed Judge House.

Judge House told them that both Owen Hutchinson and Jason Hutchinson had behaved disgracefully, however the matter had begun.

But Judge House said Owen Hutchinson could avoid an immediate prison sentence because of his age and the underlying mental illnesses of both men.

Jason Hutchinson was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He must also complete six months of alcohol treatment, complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity and adhere to a night-time curfew for four months.

Owen Hutchinson was sentenced to nine months in a young offenders' institution, suspended for 18 months.

In addition, he must undergo rehabilitation measures for 30 days and observe a night-time curfew for three months.