Woodbridge man jailed for almost three years after punching shopworkers in Ipswich and other criminal damage offences

A 27-year-old man has been jailed for almost three years after punching a shopkeeper and criminal damage offences.

Campbell Cooper, of Chandos Drive in Woodbridge, appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to a total of 34 months’ imprisonment.

Cooper had pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and assault causing actual bodily harm, for which he was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment.

The charges relate to an incident at a newsagents in Upper Brooke Street in Ipswich on September 16 last year.

At around 9.45pm Cooper entered the shop and a member of staff refused to serve him after he claimed he didn’t have enough money to buy a bottle of vodka.

A fight broke out between the two men with Cooper assaulting the victim, punching him multiple times and using the vodka bottle to hit him over the head.

A shop colleague attempted to intervene but was also assaulted by Cooper by kicking him in the body and punching him in the face. Cooper then left the shop. Both victims needed treatment at hospital for their injures.

He had also pleaded guilty to five offences unrelated to the previous incidents – one count of religiously aggravated criminal damage; and four counts of criminal damage.

For these offences he was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment to run consecutively for the religiously aggravated offence; and one months’ imprisonment to run concurrently for the other four offences.

The criminal damage offences happened between December 18, 2021 and 4 January 2021, when Cooper wrote graffiti on the same church in the town centre on three occasions, and also wrote graffiti on a town centre tattoo parlour and a car park.

DC Damian Richer from Ipswich CID said: “This was a vicious and extremely aggressive assault that saw one of the victims lose two teeth that needed replacing. Cooper will now have plenty of time in prison to reflect on his actions and I hope the sentence will give some comfort to his two victims.”