Jail for man and woman who attacked Dursley couple

Johnathon French-Bell, 34, and Emma Pullin, 41, went into a home in Oak Drive, Dursley on January 15 assaulting a man and a woman, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

French-Bell carried a Stanley knife, and proceeded to attack the couple, said prosecutor Simon Goodman during the hearing on Monday, April 22. 

Mr Goodman said the background to the incident was a confrontation between French-Bell and the man on Boxing Day last year.  

Subsequently, the man received a Snapchat message from French-Bell telling him to 'be careful' whenever he went outside to put his bins out.

"On January 15 he was at home with his partner and at 7.30am he went out and saw French-Bell coming towards him," the prosecutor said. 

"He stepped back into the kitchen and his partner heard him shouting 'Get out of my house.'

"She ran upstairs and called her father for help.  

Emma Pullin and Johnathon French-Bell have both been jailed after attacking a couple at their home in Dursley (Image: Gloucestershire Police)

“Shortly after that Pullin entered the bedroom.  In the meantime, French-Bell was assaulting the man in the kitchen.

"The man saw that French-Bell had a Stanley blade in his hand.  

“The man suddenly realised he was bleeding.  He had blood all over his neck.

"French-Bell demanded 'Give me all your money and whatever else you've got.'

"They went into the bedroom where the women already were and the woman saw French-Bell grab her partner and say 'I'll do you in.'

"French-Bell shouted to Pullin to attack the woman, which she did.  She grabbed her round the throat and pinned her down on the bed. 

"At that point the woman’s father and brother arrived at the house and heard the commotion upstairs.  

“The woman’s father told French-Bell to 'get the f*** out.'

"Police attended at 8.30am and the defendants were both arrested.  They made no comment."

The prosecutor said the dispute between the men appeared to be over the sale of plaster - the man is a plasterer by trade. 

The Crown did not accept any suggestion that the incident was anything to do with drug dealing, he said.

French-Bell, of Heathcourt, Dursley, and Pullin of Parkview Road, Berkeley, denied attempted robbery and French-Bell also denied having a bladed article in public.

He pleaded guilty to assaulting the man causing actual bodily harm and Pullin admitted assaulting the woman by beating.

Their pleas were accepted by the prosecutor.

The case was heard at Gloucester Crown Court this week (Image: Gloucestershire Police)

"Children in the playground"

Sarah Jenkins, for French-Bell, said he had been out of trouble for nearly a decade and clean of drugs for five years.

Ms Jenkins said French-Bell had relapsed at the time of the incident and had 'exercised extraordinarily bad judgement' on the day of the offences.

While on remand in prison he had been tackling his crack cocaine problem and had achieved enhanced prisoner status, she said.

For Pullin, defence barrister Catherine Spedding said there had been a fifteen year gap in her offending history and has two children. 

"This has been a rough time for her. She has resolved to turn her life around and that is what she will do when she is released."

Judge Rupert Lowe said that the falling out between the two men at Christmas last year and the subsequent exchanges of messages between them which led to the incident was 'not the way adults in their 30s and 40s should have behaved.'

"It was more reminiscent of children in the playground than adults," he said.

He jailed French-Bell for two years and sentenced Pullin to four months imprisonment. 

As she has already spent three months in custody on remand she would be released because she had 'done her time,' he added.

He imposed a restraining order banning the pair from making contact with the victims in any way or going to Oak Drive for the next three years.