THREE teenagers have been jailed for a total of 21 and a half years for a savage attack on a man in a hotel lobby in Southwark.
Joseph Tanti and Morgan Stripling, both 18 and of Addington Road, South Croydon, hit their victim over the head with a skateboard, then kicked and punched him on the floor.
As the 27-year-old man lay unconscious, Tanti stamped on his head several times before a third attacker, Sermet Hassan, of Evelyn Street, Lewisham, took an iPod from his pocket.
The officer investigating the attack said it was the one of the most "violent and frenzied" he had ever seen.
The three thugs were caught following an appeal on BBC's Crimewatch in April.
Jailing the men at Croydon Crown Court today (Friday) today, the judge said the defendants had shown "total savagery and a disregard for life", adding that the victim was lucky to have survived.
Police were called to the Premier Inn in York Road, Southwark, in the early hours of March 2 to reports of a man being attacked by three people in the hotel lobby.
They found the victim had been approached by the men in York Road and, realising they were preparing to rob him, he decided to take refuge in the hotel.
Initially the door to the hotel did not open and Tanti, Hassan and Stripling surrounded him and threatened to stab him if he did not hand over his phone.
The victim tried to strike out at one of the suspects but was unable to get away as they started to attack him.
The court heard that the door to the hotel then opened and the man ran into the lobby. His attackers followed him and launched into a vicious attack – striking him with the skateboard and as he lay on the floor.
The attack was captured on the hotel's CCTV which recorded Tanti returning to the victim, who was lying unconscious on the floor, and stamping on his head several times, before Hassan stole the iPod.
Police and ambulance crews were called and the victim was rushed to hospital in a serious condition.
He was discharged the same day but later readmitted complaining of dizziness and memory loss.
Officers turned to Crimewatch and appealed for information to identify the men involved in the attack.
Hassan, 19, handed himself in and Tanti was arrested a week later after attending a police station with a solicitor. Detectives then identified Stripling as the third suspect and he was located and arrested.
Tanti was sentenced to nine years, with a three years extended licence, after pleading guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm (GBH).
Hassan was found guilty of robbery and attempted GBH following a three-day trial at Inner London Crown Court and was sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
Stripling received seven-and-a-half year sentence after pleading guilty to attempted GBH.
Detective Constable Jamie Keane, from Lambeth CID, who investigated the case said: "This was one of the most violent and frenzied assaults that I have ever seen.
"The three of them were intent on causing serious harm to the victim who was simply walking back home from a night out in central London.
"Even eight months on from the attack, the victim is still suffering from the effects of the attack, both physically and psychologically, but I hope that today's sentence will help him start to move on from this terrible ordeal."
