Newport iron bar attacker’s court appeal fails
A Newport man jailed for a masked attack with an iron bar has failed in an Appeal Court bid to clear his name.
Luke Tex Talbot, 25, was jailed for seven and a half years at Nottingham Crown Court in July 2015.
Jurors convicted him of aggravated burglary, wounding with intent and assault causing actual bodily harm.
Prosecutors claimed Talbot was one of two masked raiders who stormed into a house in Newport, Shropshire, during a party.
During the March 2012 attack, one of the party-goers was struck to the head and face with the bar of a dumbbell.
Another man was also assaulted during the rampage, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told London's Appeal Court.
Talbot, of Ingestre Close, Newport, challenged his convictions - insisting he was nowhere near the crime scene.
His legal team argued the evidence against Talbot was so weak that the the trial judge should have dismissed the prosecution case.
But Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, sitting with Lord Justice Lindblom and Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC, said there "plainly was a case to answer".
A balaclava with Talbot's DNA was found at the crime scene and he was also identified by an eye witness, the court heard.
"There was ample evidence on which the jury could have convicted him," concluded the appeal judge.
"We are not persuaded there is any arguable merit in this application".
