Hamish Glenn Bowman will join his co-offender, Joshua McConville, at Hawke's Bay Prison after receiving an identical jail sentence to McConville of three years and nine months in the Napier District Court yesterday. Bowman, 18, a student from Jervoistown, earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of wounding with intent to causegrievous bodily harm after he was jointly charged with McConville, 17, and Darrin Peter Brian Wright over an attack on English tourist Stuart Martin in a Taradale street in the early hours of February 27. Mr Martin received serious head injuries, was diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage, and spent a week in an induced coma plus a month in Hawke's Bay Hospital. Bowman's counsel, Andrei Sharko, said an essential point was that his client and co-offenders had not ``gone looking'' for trouble that night. ``Trouble came their way,'' he said. He claimed his client was remorseful and had written a letter of apology to the Martin family. Bowman had also lost $4000 in tuition fees at EIT as a result of not being able to complete his course while on bail. His client was adamant he had never ``stomped'' on Mr Martin's head. Crown prosecutor Steve Manning refuted the defence's claim that trouble had come to the offenders that night. ``They were trouble,'' Mr Manning said. ``There was nothing to suggest the tourist was trouble, and that's borne out by the facts.'' Judge Richard Watson said there was nothing to distinguish Bowman from his co-offender, McConville. He said the three offenders acted in concert, and dealt ``serious, gratuitous street violence''. ``I imagine your family never thought you had that sort of violence in you,'' Judge Watson said. He said although it was accepted the shoe imprint left on Mr Martin's face after the attack was not inflicted by Bowman, he had been involved in kicking the victim to the head. Judge Watson said Mr Martin, now recovering in the UK, had ongoing health and neurological issues. ``His career as a pilot is in jeopardy.'' He said the case was aggravated by four factors, including the extreme violence, the fact that there were multiple attackers, the targeting of the head and and the long-term effects on Mr Martin.
