A man robbed a cyclist of his bike and bit him on the face during a terrifying city centre attack, a court has heard. The victim has been left with a scar on his nose which he says is a daily reminder of what happened to him.
Swansea Crown Court heard the incident happened in Swansea city centre on a Saturday evening in June. Sending 28-year-old robber Billy Hearn to prison, a judge said the incident had not only had directly affected the victim but would also impact the wider public’s feeling of security. Hearn’s accomplice Nikita Davies, 38, was handed a suspended sentence.
Tom Scapens, prosecuting, said the robbery happened at around 6.30pm on June 22 this year in Swansea city centre. He said the victim was cycling towards the main Tesco supermarket when he was stopped by a group of people on Princess Way. The cyclist did not know any members of the group which included the two defendants.
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The court heard Hearn grabbed the handlebars of the bike and leant into the rider’s face, angrily shouting at his victim and saying “Do you know who the f*** I am?”. Davies then also grabbed the bike and together the pair tried to snatch it, with Hearn threatening the rider that he would “bite your f****** nose off”. Hearn then clamped his teeth around the cyclist’s nose and bit down. When Hearn released his bite he threw a number of punches at his victim. The victim fled the scene and reported the incident to police.
The court heard the incident played out in front of a number of members of the public who were in the area including young witnesses, some of whom recorded the attack on their phones. The defendants were identified and arrested with Hearn becoming aggressive in his cell in Swansea Central police station and threatening to bite the noses of officers. Read about an uncle and nephew who were running ‘significant’ family cannabis dealing business in Swansea.
In an impact statement which was read to the court, the victim said he is still in shock about what happened and said he no longer feels safe going to Swansea city centre. He said the scar on his nose is a daily reminder of what happened to him.
Billy Hearn, of The Strand, Swansea, and Nikita Davies, of Heol Hermas, Penlan, Swansea, had both previously pleaded guilty to robbery when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. Davies’ plea was on the basis that she accepted she had grabbed the bicycle and pulled it but had not threatened or used force against the victim.
The court heard Hearn has an “extensive criminal history” including multiple convictions for carrying knives and weapons in Swansea city centre, and an inflicting grievous bodily harm from 2017 for which he was sentenced to 21 months in a young offenders institution. In December 2022 he was jailed for four months for drug dealing after being seen openly counting out packs of Valium and pregabalin tablets on a table on a busy Llanelli to Swansea train. The court heard Davies is more “lightly convicted” than her co-accused and is awaiting sentence before magistrates later this week for an offence of wasting police time in relation to multiple 999 calls made when intoxicated.
Andrew Evans, for Hearn, said by his calculation the defendant had spent most of the last 10 years in prison or on remand and he now understands that he is wasting his life. He said his client’s mother had died in April this year when he was serving his last custodial sentence and said upon his release from that sentence Hearn had found himself “homeless and directionless”. The court heard he found himself in a short-term relationship with someone who, like himself, had substance misuse issues. The advocate said his client had written a “heartfelt” letter to the court outlining his feelings about where his life was heading and the need for change.
Alycia Carpanini, for Davies, said reports before the court detailed the mental health struggles experienced by the mum-of-three including depressive disorder and possible drug-induced psychosis. She said Davies wants to tackle her mental health problems and addiction to street Valium so she can be there for her children, and said her client was willing to take advantage of whatever help probation could make available.
Judge Catherine Richards told the defendants they had taken part in a wholly unprovoked street robbery on a passing cyclist, and that such offending not only has a direct impact on the victim but also affects the public’s confidence about their safety in Swansea city centre. She Hearn’s bite on his victim’s face had brought with it the risk and fear of transmission of diseases. With a 20 per cent discount for his guilty plea, Hearn was sentenced to four years in prison. He will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. With a 20 per cent discount for her guilty plea Davies was sentenced to 17 months in prison suspended for 18 months and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course.
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