Exeter Crown Court reporter Ted Davenport writes for this title.

A gang of young cannabis dealers have been jailed for a total of 30 years for a ‘brutal’ hammer and baseball bat attack which almost killed a man who had mocked them on social media.

Hazem Badran, Aidan Manvell and Kai-Rhys Lawson broke into the victim’s home in Exeter as he was in bed and took turns to batter his head with the bat, which was swung so violently that it broke.

They also used a hammer and left him with two broken legs. His head was fractured in so many placed that a doctor said it had been smashed like a boiled egg.

Judge Peter Johnson told the men: “You launched a brutal and merciless attack that caused massive, life threatening and life changing injuries.”

The three men were aged 17 and 18 when they launched the attack on Euan Baker in April 2021. They had a grudge against him because they believed he had stolen some of their drug money and that he had disrespected them on social media.

Horrified neighbours heard the sounds of metal on bone during the onslaught, which only ended because a friend who was staying in the house tried to go to his rescue. The gang barricaded the door but fled when the realised the police had been called.

The beating lasted up to 20 minutes and by that time Mr Baker had suffered very serious head injuries and his blood was found splattered over the walls, ceilings and the shoes and trousers of the attackers

Mr Baker spent two weeks in a medically induced coma at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth with multiple fractures to his skull. He also had four fractures to his face, there was serious bruising to his body and both knees had been smashed.

The three attackers met at Lawson’s home in Exeter and dressed in dark clothing, hoodies which covered their faces, and gloves before setting off in Lawson’s Audi A4 car.

They had lit a fire in the garden before they left which they used to burn the gloves, masks and the broken remains of the bat after the attack.

The attack took place on the night of April 27, 2021 and followed a previous attack on March 19 in which he was robbed of his bike, watch and keys and battered with a metal chair by Badran.

Manvell, aged 20, of Crabtree Close, Cranbrook; Badran, aged 20, of Hook Drive, Exeter; and Lawson, aged 21, of Widgery Road, Exeter; all admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and robbery.

Lawson admitted cannabis dealing and Badran was found guilty of witness intimidation at a trial in March in which all three were acquitted of attempted murder.

Lawson was jailed for 13 years and six months, Badran for nine years and two months and Manvell for eight years by Judge Johnson at Exeter Crown Court. The differences in the sentence arose because of the age of defendants at the time of the attacks and how early they pleaded guilty.

He told them: “You implemented a plan which was pre-meditated to attack Mr Baker as a result of his postings on social media which indicated the earlier attack on him had not affected him and in which he made disparaging remarks about Manvell and Badran.

“There was a pre-meditated plan to teach him a lesson for what you considered to be imprudent social media posts. You launched a brutal and merciless attack that caused massive, life threatening and life changing injuries.”

The case took three years to reach its conclusion because two previous trials had to be stopped for different reasons.

During this trial, Mr Daniel Pawson-Pounds, prosecuting, the background to both the robbery and attack were disputes over money generated by cannabis dealing.

The gang blamed Mr Baker for losing cash which was seized by the police, £8,000 stolen from them by rival dealers, and for stealing more cash which had been left in his safe keeping.

Lawson set up the March 19 robbery by arranging to meet Mr Baker in a shed in Whipton to buy his £450 bicycle. He left briefly and Badran and Manvell then turned up and attacked Mr Baker. They kicked and punched him and hit him over the head with a metal chair before stealing his £160 watch.

Badran sent a friend a message the next day saying he had ‘smashed a metal chair over his head and his mouth was p***ing out blood’. It was followed by laughing emojis.

Mr Baker was in bed late on the night of April 27 when a friend, who was staying in a neighbouring room, heard loud noises from his room.

He tried to get in but only managed to open the door a few inches before it was forced shut and held shut. The friend went downstairs to call for help and recognised the three men as they left, even they were all wearing hoodies and masks.

One was carrying a broken blue baseball bat. Bloodstained fragments were recovered from the bedroom and matching pieces were recovered from Lawson’s Audi A4 car. A blood stained hammer was found at the scene which had not been in the room before the attack.

Bloodstains on Manvell’s clothing and the walls showed the attack had continued when Mr Baker was already injured and bleeding.

Mr Baker was still conscious for a few moments after police arrived and was recorded on an officer’s body worn camera saying ‘please help me’ and saying he had been hit with bats and something metal.

In the trial, all three minimised their involvement in the baseball bat and hammer attack and blamed the others for causing the injuries.

Miss Mary Aspinall-Miles, for Lawson, said he was only just 18 at the time and had undiagnosed mental issues including ADHD which contributed to his rash behaviour.

Miss Kelly Scrivener, for Manvell and Mr Joss Ticehurst, for Badran, said they had both matured in the three years since the attack, during which they had shown they can stay out of trouble and live law abiding lives.