Thug high on drugs punches woman leaving her with blood pouring from her eye

A man punched a woman to the nose and wielded a knife on a night out Cardiff Crown Court has heard.

Ricci Davies was said to be fuelled by cocaine and Xanax when he attacked his victim.

The 29-year-old visited the Pontlottyn Wetherspoon pub in Abertillery at around 10.30pm on July 16, asking other customers: "Where's the fight?"

He was said to be behaving in a "rowdy manner" and sweating "profusely" according to a witness.

Prosecutor William Bebb said Davies of Somerset Street was seen stopping cars on the same road he lived on, and at one point sitting in a car boot.

He "appeared to be enjoying the attention", said one witness.

The court then heard how Davies then went across the road to the Somerset Hotel, where the deputy manager noticed he was "drawing attention to himself" and "causing problems" at the bar.

The staff member feared it was about to "kick off" when he saw Davies go into the toilets followed by two other men.

The employee entered and saw "all three were punching each other" before himself being hit "a few times" while trying to hold them apart.

Two of the men left but Davies remained and the deputy manager noticed he was holding a knife, around two inches long and pointed at the end.

He warned the deputy manager he would "do it" but eventually said: "I will leave but don't touch my s***." He then exited the hotel.

Cardiff Crown Court then heard that a woman on a night out in Somerset Street noticed Davies was outside the Wetherspoon acting "aggressively" towards passers-by.

"The defendant came towards her in an unusual manner," said Mr Bebb.

"She tried to make it clear to the defendant she was not looking at him. By this point, due to the manner of the defendant and his larger build, she describes being frozen in fear."

The woman said Davies appeared very sweaty, which prompted him to rip off his red polo shirt and wrap it around his knuckles while throwing pieces of it at her and asking: "What did you say? What did you say?"

She replied "nothing" but Davies called her a "fat b****" and punched her in the face. Her left eye and nose is said to have bled profusely.

Davies is said to have then fled to his home and took his Jack Russell for a walk in Hill Street, where police found him topless.

As he was arrested he told officers: "You know me, don't you?"

During a statement read to the court, the woman said she lost "all confidence" and became "very paranoid" following the attack. She said she feared she would have permanent damage to her eye due to the amount of blood.

She added: "I do not feel safe unless I am with someone I know."

Davies has admitted affray, assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH) and possession of a blade. He has 29 previous offences on his record. They include sexual assault, affray, assaulting a police officer and battery.

Ed Mitchard, mitigating, said Davies had snorted what he thought was straight cocaine on the night the offences took place.

However the substance had turned out to be laced with Xanax, a tranquiliser he had not taken before.

Davies, who has post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, says he remembers little of the night but feels remorse for his behaviour, said the solicitor, who described him as "an intelligent person who wants to better himself."

Mr Mitchard added: "Since he has been in custody Mr Davies has had enhanced status in prison and fully behaved himself. He has lost just over three stone since being in custody.

"At the time of his arrest he was binge-drinking on a daily basis and becoming corpulent. He realises now that alcohol is at the crux of his offending behaviour. He has addressed this through the medical facilities at HMP Cardiff."

Judge Shomon Khan said Davies' "completely unacceptable and unjustified" attack had a huge impact on the woman, adding: "She had done nothing to you." The defendant nodded.

Ricci Davies was given a 20-month jail term.