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An ‘aggressive’ thug knocked out a good Samaritan’s dentures and fractured a pensioner’s jaw during a brutal drunken punching spree. Cruel Elvis Cani pounced on his victims ‘out of nowhere’, wounding three strangers who were walking through West Bromwich town centre.
The 30-year-old landed single blows on the unsuspecting passers-by and even attacked two of them from behind. A pensioner was knocked unconscious, a shopper was ambushed while leaving a store and a kind-hearted woman was wounded by Cani seconds after coming to his aid.
Have-a-go heroes who spotted the yob’s ‘random’ outbursts attempted to bring an end to his ‘appalling’ violence, forcing him to the ground as they restrained him. He managed to flee the scene but was soon tracked down by a ‘keen’ member of the public who had kept a watchful eye on him.
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Cani later went on to spit at a police officer while in hospital with a bloodied face in what was branded a ‘disgusting and dirty’ assault. The convict was handed time behind bars for his heartless crimes – but was told he will be freed from jail soon after spending more than a year on remand.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how Cani was in the town centre when he had a ‘fight’ with his friend on March 2 last year. The ‘extremely intoxicated’ and ‘aggressive’ defendant – who was assisted in court by an Albanian interpreter – was hurt during the altercation.
His first victim was walking along Carters Green, near the Post Office, when he noticed Cani ‘shouting and waving his arms around’. Cani gestured towards the pensioner with his thumbs up to indicate he was OK, with the exchange appearing ‘amicable’.
But the pensioner was then punched from behind ‘out of nowhere’ and landed on the floor, prosecutor Naomi Nelson-Cofie said. The 74-year-old was temporarily knocked unconscious, with members of the public quickly rushing to the aid of the ‘disorientated’ grandad.
He suffered a 5cm wound to his left eyebrow which needed to be glued together by medics. The man was also left with a fractured jaw which required surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Within just a ‘matter of seconds’, Cani left his second victim with a cut to his mouth after punching the shopper as he left Milus Supermarket. ‘Moments later’, there was a third attack.
Cani’s female victim had got off the bus and was walking along High Street when she saw a ‘gathering of people’. Ms Nelson-Coife said: “Because of what the defendant had done, other members of the public were trying to apprehend him.
“There is, it must be accepted, physical violence – it’s described as retribution towards him.” Bystanders attempted to restrain Cani, who was bleeding and had injuries to his face.
The woman spotted Cani and went to help him, intending to put him in the recovery position. She ‘reassured’ him that emergency services were on the way before ‘slightly’ moving from the scene.
Cani then ‘out of nowhere’ got up from the floor and punched her face. The ‘distressed’ woman began to cry when she realised she had blood pouring from her nose and mouth.
The defendant – of Lakeside Road, West Bromwich – had punched her with such force that he had knocked the dentures out of her mouth and to the floor. He fled the scene but was soon tracked down by a member of the public who had been watching the ordeal unfold and ‘kept the defendant in his sight’.
Police arrested Cani and escorted him to Sandwell General Hospital, describing him as ‘drunk and aggressive’. He remained ‘argumentative’ while in the hospital and had to be placed in leg restraints, with a spit hood put on his face.
He was sedated so a CT scan could take place, but the sedation began to wear off by 4am. The convict – whose spit hood had been removed by this point – then became aggressive once again.
A nurse tried to sedate him as he lay down when he spat in a female officer’s face. In a statement read to the court, she said: “Cani had blood all over this face.
“He did not care that this also would have been spat at me. The incident did shock me at the time.”
The court heard how the injured pensioner’s balance and speech has been affected since he was attacked by Cani. He is often left feeling unsteady on his feet and suffering ‘dizzy spells’.
The man, now 75, was unable to eat solid food for six weeks as he could not chew due to the fractured jaw. He said: “I now have to carry a panic button to make sure that I feel safe.
“This incident has affected me and my wife mentally as I now struggle to go out. I am in fear that something could happen to me.
“With my wife having epilepsy, it frightens me more. If something happens to me, my wife would be in danger.”
Cani had convictions for previous offences including production of cannabis, criminal damage and assault. Glenn Cook, defending, said the defendant had been on remand since March last year.
He added: “All of these assaults are short-lived. They are single punches. While in custody, it has been particularly hard for him as a non-English speaking foreign national. It has not been an easy time for him.”
Sentencing, Judge Talog Davies said: “It was an appalling course of drunken violence, made worse because two of your victims were actually trying to help you. These assaults were unprovoked, no one saw them coming.”
Cani admitted unlawful wounding, assault on an emergency worker and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for 94 weeks but was told he was likely to be released as he had already served half of his sentence.
