A driver who bragged about dishing out ‘street justice’ to a man he beat to death for stepping out in front of his car has been jailed.
Jake McIntyre, 28, hit 39-year-old Andrew Peart over the head with a metal tyre lever he had in the boot before punching him and leaving him lying on the ground on August 22 of last year.
Andrew got up and carried on with his day, but his condition got worse and after going to hospital the next day he was found to have suffered a fractured skull and bleed on the brain, and he sadly died on August 30.
McIntyre went on the run and filmed a chilling video while driving his BMW confessing to the assault.
In the footage he said: ‘Do you know what’s a f***ing nightmare? Is f***ing hiding from the f***ing police and having to change me f***ing car again for giving someone street justice.’
He was arrested in the Lake District days later and went on trial accused of Andrew’s murder. McIntyre was cleared of that charge but found guilty of manslaughter, and he’s now been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Andrew Peart was heading to the Co-op in Guidepost, Northumberland, at about 10pm on the night of the attack when he walked onto a section of road close to a Mitsubishi Shogun being driven by McIntyre.
McIntyre ‘hit his horn’ and words were exchanged, with Andrew allegedly challenging McIntyre to a fight.
Judge Paul Sloan KC told McIntyre during sentencing: ‘Mr Peart was intoxicated at the time and was shouting at you and challenging you to fight. He reinforced that by taking his top off and raising his hands. You took up that challenge.’
The court was told McIntyre then began shouting at Andrew, telling him ‘do you know who I am?’. He drove away but was ‘incensed by what happened’.
McIntyre – who was said to have had amateur boxing and cage fighting experience – returned to the scene after arming himself with a tyre lever and hit Andrew in the head with it after tracking him down.
He later recorded himself bragging about the assault, saying he had ‘wrapped a pole around his head’.
Despite the victim attempting to apologise, McIntyre hit him in the head before delivering another forceful blow to his leg. He also punched him in the face and kicked him while he was on the floor in front of witnesses.
McIntyre drove off and Andrew eventually got up off the ground and walked away, phoning someone to say he had been hit with a bat by a man in a car.
Andrew walked to a friend’s flat and they said he was fine but ‘fuming’ and had a small lump on his head. He was collected by his partner and he told her he had been hit round the head by McIntyre with a metal bar.
Despite suffering a serious injury, Andrew ignored advice from friends to go straight to hospital and instead went to seek McIntyre out and armed himself with a knife.
But Andrew’s condition was deteriorating, suffering increasing pain, and was taken to hospital the day after the attack where he later died.
After the attack, McIntyre – who had previous drug trafficking offences relating to cannabis on his record – swapped his car and fled to the Lake District with his girlfriend. He was later arrested at a hotel in Bowness.
During the sentencing, Andrew’s sister Lyndsay Porter said even though he could sometimes be unpredictable and make bad decisions, he was ‘also kind and caring, a good person. If you needed him he would be there in a heartbeat’.
She said McIntyre had shown no remorse ‘for killing my brother and robbing us of a future with him.’
His mother, Christine Peart, said the family had been ‘living a nightmare’ since his death. She said that the family can only hope he was not in too much pain when he passed away, but not knowing will ‘haunt’ the family forever.
John Elvidge KC, defending, said the attack was ‘out of character’ for McIntyre and that it is a ‘tragic case’, adding that McIntyre was ‘remorseful’ of his actions.
He said: ‘He is a family man, he has no previous convictions for violent offending and no history of him being involved in unlawful violence. There is no suggestion that in the past he’s had any difficulties in controlling his temper or managing anger.’
Sentencing McIntyre, Judge Sloan described the attack as ‘vicious and cowardly’.
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