A thug who threw a plank of wood at a gay man’s head after calling him ‘f**king queer’ believed he was being ‘stalked by homosexuals’, a court has heard. James Billings, 41, told police gay men at his gym had a ‘crazy obsession’ with him as he was arrested for a homophobic attack on Piotr Kwiecien outside the Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in November last year.
Billings was brought to court, partly thanks to the combined efforts of Mr Kwiecien’s boyfriend, who circulated images of the suspect on Nextdoor, and MyLondon, who identified Billings by attending his address and speaking to neighbours. Police initially claimed they could not identify the perpetrator, but five days after our report – which detailed a series of random attacks around the Drayton Park area – Billings was arrested and charged with multiple assaults and public order offences.
Now, some six months after Mr Kwiecien first reported his attack, this Wednesday (May 21) Billings was convicted of assault by beating and using threatening words and behaviour after a trial at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court. After the hearing, a supporter of Mr Kwiecien thanked MyLondon, saying: “We genuinely do not think he would have been charged if you had not got involved.”
A charge for common assault relating to another alleged attack on December 22 was dropped last week (Tuesday, May 13) after the Crown Prosecution Service learned of evidential difficulties on the day of trial that made it impossible to proceed. After the hearing, a source said: “It has to be done properly.”
Billings still faces another trial this July over a third incident – a public order offence alleged to have happened against another complainant on March 22 this year. It is alleged Billings used threatening words and behaviour, and it was homophobically aggravated.
Though Mr Kwiecien and his supporters welcomed Billings’ conviction, they have questioned ‘multiple failings’ by police after photos of Mr Kwiecien’s head injury, and a recording of the 999 call, somehow failed to make it to court. Met officers also failed to seize crucial CCTV footage, instead relying on a body-worn video of the CCTV monitor that did not show the full extent of the attack.
After the hearing, an emotional Mr Kwiecien told MyLondon: “I just feel sorry for the poor b*stard. Clearly he is just messed up. At the same time I am conflicted. I want to be safe on the street. At the same time we do not know the human element – his past, his history. The most important thing is to leave the house with my dog and walk and be safe.”
‘Show your f**king face you c**t’
At the trial Mr Kwiecien told the court he was walking his miniature poodle Ella near the Arsenal stadium at around 11:30pm on November 29 last year when ‘muttering’ and ‘very aggressive’ Billings crossed the road, pulling up a black fabric face mask, then said ‘F**king queer. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do it.’.
“He crossed the road, getting closer and closer, and there was nowhere for me to go. There was nothing I could do really. I knew I was going to be attacked,” said Mr Kwiecien, adding: “I was scared. I was very nervous. I was worried about my safety and the safety of my dog.”
Fearing an immediate assault, Mr Kwiecien told magistrates he kicked Billings in self-defence in the left-side of his upper leg, then began filming him on his phone, shouting ‘Show your f**king face. Show your f**king face, you c**t’. In the mobile phone video, Billings could be seen angrily walking up the steps of the Emirates, shouting ‘Come on’.
Grainy CCTV footage (recorded on the body cam) showed another angle of this moment, with Mr Kwiecien standing his ground from the attacker, moments after Billings apparently ‘stumbled’ behind him following the defensive kick. Mr Kwiecien also claimed he saw Billings put a hand in his pocket, and believed he might pull out a knife.
Mr Kwiecien then called police, who asked him to give a description of Billings and tell them where he was going. Under cross-examination, Mr Kwiecien denied ‘goading’ or ‘following’ Billings, telling the court he followed police instructions as he tried to walk home.
After walking past Queensland Road, where Billings lives, and losing sight of him on Benwell Road, Mr Kwiecien said Billings appeared from Bryantwood Road to attack him again while he was still on the 999 call.
“He ran towards me from that road out of the darkness,” said Mr Kwiecien, “I saw him carrying a piece of wood in his hands. I turned around and tried to run away. When he got close to me he threw an object at the back of my head… I felt the impact. I lost consciousness for a second and fell to the ground. I managed to pick myself up and saw the attacker picking up the object again.”
Complainant denies ‘following’ attacker
When a police car arrived two minutes later, Billings had already disappeared along with the plank of wood. Mr Kwiecien then gave a statement in the early hours of November 30, and officers photographed the back of his head.
But this week it emerged the photos had been lost by the Met, so magistrates were unable to be certain the level of harm reached the threshold for the Crown’s original charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Instead Billings was convicted of the lesser alternative of assault by beating.
Fortunately, a photo of Mr Kwiecien’s head injury, taken by his partner three days after the incident on December 3, was provided to the court just before the trial, allowing the Crown to press ahead with crucial evidence. Looking at the image in court, Mr Kwiecien said it was ‘very painful’ and claimed he also felt pain from a shoulder injury in the weeks after.
On the emotional impact, Mr Kwiecien said: “It’s difficult to leave the house with the dog because I worry about the safety of my dog, me, and my partner. It has impacted the whole family… I have difficulty with sleep and concentration, and I have asked to reduce my hours at work to concentrate on my mental health.”
Answering questions from defence counsel Anisa Kebbati, Mr Kwiecien agreed he could not initially understand what Billings was saying, but insisted her heard ‘f**king queer’ as he got closer. Mr Kwiecien also said that there was no need for Billings to come near him with no-one around, and denied chasing after Billings while telling him ‘Come here you c**t’.
Mr Kwiecien claimed he took his phone out to preserve evidence, and blamed any discrepancy in his statement on the ‘enormous pressure’ and the effects of the concussion he felt after the incident.
Pressed on whether he ‘followed’ Billings, Mr Kwiecien said: “I did not pursue him. When I called the police they asked what direction he was going in. I moved because I was following police orders. The police asked me to see what he was wearing.”
‘Maybe I was mumbling’
In a grey Arsenal tracksuit and Nike Airmax 95s, an assured Billings took the stand, telling magistrates he had been out to buy ‘cigarettes, a soft drink, and a snack’ at a shop on Holloway Road when he crossed over the zebra crossing outside the Emirates to get back to his flat on Queensland Road.
Asked if he used homophobic slurs, Billings denied this and said: “I’m talking to myself. I do not remember exactly… Just venting my everyday life stress. I could not tell you exactly what I was saying. Maybe I was mumbling to myself.”
Claiming he was the victim, Billings accused Mr Kwiecien of running up to him and kicking him, after which he considered ‘engaging in conflict’ but ‘took a breath’ and decided against it. Billings then claimed, Mr Kwiecien followed him while shouting ‘Come on you c**t’, something Mr Kwiecien denied in his evidence. Asked why his face was covered, Billings said he was wearing a scarf because it was cold, and denied moving the mask upwards to conceal his face further.
Billings then explained he walked past the road leading to his home address, as he did not want to be followed home. Describing what happened next, Billings claimed: “He seemed aggressive. He’s got his phone out and I do not know what he’s capable of. He’s just attacked me. I have seen something and thrown it at him. I’m not sure it hit him.”
Billings said he could not remember how hard he threw the ‘little piece of plywood’, and insisted he was ‘unaware’ of it hitting Mr Kwiecien, adding ‘nobody hit the floor’.
‘I’m not a homosexual’
The nub of prosecutor Kevin Kendridge’s cross examination focussed on a body-worn video of Billings’ arrest. In the video shown to the court, Billings told the arresting officer PC Ben Goodman he had changed his gym multiple times due to ‘stalking’ by ‘homosexuals’.
“I have actually been stalked by homosexuals and they are trying to groom me,” Billings told PC Goodman, adding: “I’m not a homosexual. They have got some crazy obsession with me. They are trying to stalk me and it’s a bit weird and worrying. As well, they are a bit obsessed with me.”
After acknowledging the incident with Mr Kwiecien, Billings continued: “He’s also a homosexual and I have been stalked and harassed by homosexuals and I’m not a homosexual and that’s it.”
In his questioning, Mr Kendridge suggested Billings had ‘targeted’ Mr Kwiecien because of his sexuality, then reacted ‘in retaliation’ by throwing the wood when Mr Kwiecien ‘dobbed him in’ by calling the police.
“Is it really a coincidence, or have you gone up to him because you know he was gay and you don’t like gay people,” said Mr Kendridge.
Billings hit back: “It was a complete coincidence… It’s not important to me. I have no issue and everyone is entitled to be who they want to be.”
Billings agreed he had changed gyms a couple of times due to the ‘gay stalking’ claims, adding that he had also requested a housing transfer from Islington Council. Asked how he knew his ‘stalkers’ were gay, Billings said ‘they do seem gay’, adding that other gym members could ‘confirm they are gay’.
Asked if he thought his ‘stalkers’ are sexually attracted to him, Billings said: “Yeah, it’s a bit worrying. It’s not people in the gym, I have realised. It’s people coming in there because I am there.”
Mr Kendridge suggested it was ‘simply laughable’ that Mr Kwiecien was out looking for a fight with Billings. “Is it not more likely you went up to him making horrible comments and the reason he kicked you is because he was really scared of you,” added the prosecutor.
Asked why he threw a plank of wood at someone facing away from him, Billings said: “The man was coming towards me. I’m kind of confused how it can hit him on the back of the head if he is facing towards me.” Mr Kendridge replied: “I agree. Your story makes no sense.”
Despite seeing himself as the victim, Billings made no comment during his police interview due to advice from his solicitor, he told the court. Billings also claimed he failed to call the police about his ‘attacker’ because ‘It was a silly incident and I did not want to pursue it’.
‘An act of vengeance’
In his closing speech, Mr Kendridge told magistrates it was a ‘deliberate targeting’ of Mr Kwiecien due to his sexuality, related to Billings’ belief about ‘gay stalkers’. Mr Kendridge also highlighted the fact Billings took no action, even after realising his image had been circulated on social media. “It’s an act of vengeance rather than self-defence,” added the lawyer.
Ms Kebbati urged the magistrates to clear her client of all charges, telling them they could not be sure whether Billings said anything to Mr Kwiecien, as there was no video evidence.
After retiring for more than 30 minutes to consider their verdict, the bench found Billings guilty on both counts. Chairwoman Ms Pay said: “[Billings] has presented himself as the victim, and we do not agree with his version of events.”
On the initial harassment, she said: “In giving his evidence, it became clear [Billings] was aware of Mr Kwiecien’s sexual orientation, having seen him with his partner walk his dog.”
On the assault, she added: “It’s clear Mr Kwiecien was walking away from him, so the defence of self-defence does not apply.”
Billings was released on condition bail not to contact his victim ahead of another trial on July 3 at the same court.
Got a tip, a court date, or some gossip? Please email [email protected] or WhatsApp 07580255582.
Don’t miss out on the latest crime stories from across London. Sign up to MyLondon’s Court & Crime newsletter HERE.
