A VIOLENT couple have been jailed after a late night brawl in McDonald’s left one customer with a large gash to his head when he was struck with a high-heeled shoe.

Appearing at Mold Crown Court for sentencing, partners Kay Marie Brown, 25, and Luke Anthony Bednarek, 27, of Oxford Street, Wrexham, had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of assault and affray following the incident which took place at the Regent Street branch of McDonald’s in Wrexham at around 12.30am on February 19, 2019.

Ryan Rothwell, prosecuting, described how the defendants were walking past a table where Jordan Joseph was sitting eating with two friends when Brown said “what are you laughing at?” to which Mr Jordan replied: “I wasn’t laughing at anyone”.

CCTV footage shown to the court, captured barefoot Brown then hitting Mr Joseph over the head with one of her high-heeled shoes which she was carrying.

A fight then quickly broke out as Brown tried to hit the victim again with her shoe before she could be seen lifting up a safety cone and hitting one of the males as well as throwing numerous punches and kicks, jumping on the back of one of the men and even pulling the hair of the victim as he nursed his wound.

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Kay Marie Brown

Bednarek could also be seen throwing punches and at one point he managed to fight off two of the men who were trying to restrain him on the floor of the takeaway as shocked staff and customers looked on.

After watching the footage, Judge Rhys Rowlands said he was surprised Brown had not been charged with the more serious offence of unlawful wounding rather than with assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and affray and also expressed his disappointment that there was no medical evidence or victim impact statement to consider.

The court also heard that just hours before the incident, Bednarek, who has 27 previous convictions for 48 offences, had appeared at North East Wales Magistrates’ Court in Mold, where he had pleaded guilty to a battery charge and been made the subject of a community order following a domestic violence incident involving Brown during which she was pushed and spat at during a night out in Wrexham town centre on February 1.

Describing what followed as “disgraceful, drunken violence”, Judge Rowlands criticised the couple for deciding to start a family after hearing that Brown was two months pregnant and they had conceived soon after receiving a court summons.

“What an awfully depressing picture of people who have no idea how to behave,” he added.

Defending Brown, Miles Wilson, said: “This is a high hurdle for me to get over but I will do my best.

“Her behaviour was completely irrational and paranoid and a consequence of drinking with her fragile mental health.

“She has reacted by completely changing her lifestyle and does not drink apart from watered down cocktails on holiday.”

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Luke Anthony Bednarek

Interrupting Mr Wilson, Judge Rowlands said: “You do not address that by smoking cannabis and drinking to access.”

He asked Mr Wilson when the couple went on holiday and expressed surprise when told they had got back from Majorca just days before their court appearance.

“If you are done for speeding you worry about what is going to happen to you rather than go on holiday a week before you are due in court. I am completely sceptical as anyone would be,” he said.

Defending Bednarek, Henry Hills, said his client had “joined in with alacrity” but had been working for 18 months as a warehouse operative and could offer his family a degree of stability.

Sentencing Brown to eight months in prison and Bednarek to 10 months, Judge Rowlands said: “This was a quite disgraceful incident and the case against you is quite overwhelming.”

The couple, who appeared in the dock together, stopped to kiss each other before being led away by guards.