Man, 29, jailed for Burton Latimer hammer assault

On the late afternoon of March 30, Northamptonshire Police received a call from a woman in Kettering concerned about her partner.

She explained that she and the man had gone to an address in Burton Latimer by taxi shortly before 9am that morning to pick up cannabis, only for him not to return to the vehicle.

Instead, two people had come out, told her the man was staying there ‘to chill’, and paid the driver to take her back home.

As the morning went on, the man’s family had received a series of WhatsApp messages from him asking for money, which didn’t sound like he had written them.

His mum then had a phone call in which he sounded distressed, again asking for money. Unable to locate him, by 5.40pm, his partner and family were concerned enough to call police.

The report was quickly escalated from a concern for welfare to a missing person enquiry, and then a potential kidnap investigation.

Enquiries soon narrowed down the likely location of the man to a property in Virginia Crescent, where, shortly before midnight, four response officers knocked on the door.

When they went in, they found the injured victim along with 29-year-old Luke Muggleton, two other men and one woman, all of whom were arrested.

The victim was taken to hospital and told officers he had been told to not move from a sofa and had been repeatedly hit with a hammer and a socket set, as well as punched, slapped and kicked throughout the day.

Muggleton went on to be charged with assault, attempted theft, false imprisonment, robbery and fraud and was due to go on trial with two other men at Northampton Crown Court.

However, at an appearance on December 19, he entered guilty pleas to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and attempted theft from the person of another.

The charges of false imprisonment, robbery and fraud by false representation, which Muggleton had denied, were ordered to remain on file.

On January 23, Muggleton, of no fixed address, returned to the same court where he was sentenced to a total of 28 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.

He was also made subject to a seven-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim by any means.

Speaking afterwards, investigating officer Detective Constable Megan Beattie of CID North said: “The victim was put through an incredibly traumatic experience by Luke Muggleton, who took his phone, and repeatedly assaulted and threatened him, all driven by greed.

“The victim spent hours fearing what would come next, with his partner and family also left with a growing fear for his safety when they couldn’t get hold of him after a series of out-of-character messages and calls.

“Cases like this are unusual – possibly as people fear the consequences of reporting them – but I hope this result shows that they are investigated without fear or favour and are also taken seriously by the courts.”

Charges of false imprisonment and assault against two other men in relation to the incident were dismissed at a crown court hearing on December 23.