A violent criminal is back in prison after he attacked a man in a hostel before causing him to fall from a first-floor window.
James Chandler, who has served lengthy jail terms for robbery and assault, beat up the victim after the pair got into an argument.
In a bid to escape, the victim tried to flee through an upstairs window. CCTV shows him dangling from the window ledge before Chandler forced him to fall to the ground.
The 31-year-old then went outside and continued to attack the man as he lay badly injured in the snow.
The victim lost five teeth in the incident and was taken to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he required surgery for an open ankle fracture.
Chandler, formerly of Langford Road, Mansfield, admitted assault causing serious harm on a reckless basis.
He appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday (24 February) and was jailed for two years and four months.
The attack happened at a hostel in Rosemary Street, Mansfield, on 29 November last year.
Trouble flared when the victim visited the hostel at around 2am to see a friend who was staying there.
Once inside the multi-occupied property, he encountered Chandler along a corridor and the pair got into an argument.
Chandler was annoyed that the man’s sister had allegedly called him a “crackhead” – a claim that led to the man telling Chandler to “shut up”.
Chandler became angry and shoved the man into a wall before punching him in the mouth.
A scuffle spilled into a bedroom and moments later the victim was dangling from a window, where Chandler forced him to fall.
Having shattered his ankle, the man tried to hobble away but was prevented from doing so when Chandler came out of the property and continued to attack him.
It was not the first time Chandler had been violent. In 2012, he was jailed for eight years for robbery and last year he received a nine-month sentence after he attacked his ex-partner’s home and grabbed her by the throat.
Detective Sergeant Georgina Gallagher, of Nottinghamshire Police, said Chandler fully deserved to be back behind bars.
She said: “This was a very nasty incident and the consequences could have been even worse for the victim.
“Not content with knocking out the man’s teeth, he then forced him to fall from a window knowing it would cause further injury.
“He could have stopped there but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to come down the stairs, go outside and continue attacking the man as he lay helplessly in the snow.
“Chandler is a danger to society and I am pleased he is once again behind bars. I hope it sends a clear message that Nottinghamshire Police will not tolerate violent behaviour and will always strive to put offenders before the courts.”
