Paranoid thug launched brutal attack on friend

A VICIOUS thug who became paranoid after taking cocaine and savagely attacked his drinking partner has been jailed.

- By GAVIN HAVERY

Christopher Cooper, 36, grabbed his friend by the throat, convincing himself someone was coming to “bray” him.

He choked the man before launching a brutal attack that left his victim with a fractured cheekbone, a cut above the eye, and bruising to the chest.

Jon Harley, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, said the men had been drinking in Redcar in the early hours of September 1, last year, before going to the victim's flat in Saltburn. The court heard Cooper’s demeanour changed when he took drugs and a friend was invited over to join them.

Mr Harley said Cooper, of Micklow Close, Redcar, accused his friend of getting someone to come over “to bray him”. He said: “He thought the defendant was joking but realised that wasn’t the case when the defendant grabbed him by the throat and choked him.

“He dropped to the floor, and the defendant punched him to the head and body with force, sufficient to smash his glasses.

“He called out for the defendant to stop during the attack.”

The court heard Cooper stopped abruptly, after “what felt like 20 minutes”, and walked out of the flat.