A former gang member – jailed for life for murdering an innocent roofer in a London pub – has appeared in court for attacking an officer at HMP Whitemoor in March where he is serving a life sentence. Christopher Walters, 35, launched the unprovoked attack on 16 January last year.
He punched the prison officer to the face twice, knocking him unconscious. The officer was taken to hospital for treatment and was discharged the same day.
Walters, previously of Neasden in London, initially denied assault causing actual bodily harm but pleaded guilty during a trial at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday (24 September).
He was sentenced to 13 months in prison to be served concurrently to his existing sentence.
In 2013 Walters was convicted of murdering a man in London in May the previous year.
He was one of three gang members found guilty of killing an Arsenal supporter who had been watching a football match in a London pub, the Ox and Gate pub in Dollis Hill.
Walters and one other were found guilty of murder and murder – a third man was found guilty of manslaughter and wounding.
Walters had vowed to ‘shut down’ the pub after being humiliated and beaten up by one of the drinkers in a shop across the road.
He recruited a gang of 15 hoodies and tried to storm the pub armed with a knife, only to be chased off by customers who hurled bottles after them as they ran up the street.
Walters, of Lovett Way, Neasden, who is thought to have inflicted the fatal wound, was jailed for life with a minimum of 28 years.
Judge Rebecca Poulet QC said: “It is hard to think of a more serious and inhuman piece of conduct.”
Of the Whitemoor attack, DC Emma Purser said: “This was a completely unprovoked attack that left a man needing hospital treatment.
“Although the sentence is concurrent, it will be taken into account when Walters becomes eligible for parole.
“Prison officers do a difficult job in challenging circumstances. Attacks like this are completely unacceptable.”
