A 16-year-old boy from Hove has been sentenced for stabbing a man twice in the leg in a Brighton pub.
The teenager, who cannot be named, stabbed the man, Emre Gyuler, as he tried to break up a fight in Molly Malone’s, in West Street, Brighton.
The fight broke out at about 4am and the boy, from Hangleton, was seen stabbing Mr Gyuler two or three times – an attack that he admitted.
Since the attack, in July, the pub’s licence has been revoked after a review held in secret by Brighton and Hove City Council.
Alisdair Smith, prosecuting, told Chichester Crown Court: “Mr Gyuler tried to split up those who were involved. He fell to the floor for no reason that was immediately apparent.
Mr Smith said that security guard Marcus Jordan saw the boy stab Mr Gyuler, leaving him with two knife wounds.
Mr Smith added: “He was surrounded by four young men who were all kicking and punching him.
“After some time, the attackers left. It was only at that point that he realised that he had been stabbed because his leg was covered in blood.
“He had been stabbed in the left thigh and the left lower leg. He had a 3cm long cut in his left thigh and a 2cm long cut to his outer left leg.
“He needed a total of 14 stitches to repair those injuries. On arrival at hospital his blood pressure dropped significantly and his leg was swollen.
“The hospital staff were concerned for the major arteries that pass through the thigh, particularly the femoral artery.
“He was in what was described as a critical condition as a result of the blood loss that he had suffered. Fortunately, he had no major damage to his major arteries.”
Richard Barton, defending, said: “Everybody in this case is lucky that that didn’t occur.”
Mr Barton said that the defendant had written a letter of apology while on remand in a young offender institution and had started having therapy and working on controlling his “anger issues”.
The youngster had promised not to go back to mixing with his old friends and Mr Barton said: “Is he Oliver Twist or is he the Artful Dodger?”
There was a danger that one could turn into the other over time, he said, adding: “Drugs have played a role in his life and that is tragic.
“It does have the effect that he acted in a way that he might not otherwise have done.”
Judge Anne Arnold said: “You caused a serious injury to a man whose life could all too easily have been lost.
“I hope that the letter … does reflect a genuine change of heart. No one wants to see a young life wasted.”
She told the boy that he should understand “just how serious your offences really are”.
The judge said that if the boy had been 18 – an adult in law – he could have been looking at up to 10 years in prison for the stabbing.
She said: “It’s the first time that you’ve come before the courts but … you haven’t been an angel before that.
“My main aim is to ensure that you don’t offend again – both for your own sake and for society’s.”
Judge Arnold imposed a two-year detention and training order for assault causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and a six-month sentence for having a knife, to be served concurrently.
The first year of the sentence would be served in detention, she said, and the second year would be spent training under supervision in the community.
The boy had also pleaded guilty to racist abuse aimed at a police officer but there was no separate sentence for the offence.
As the hearing ended on Friday (29 October), the judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of a lock knife which had been recovered from an accomplice when the boy was arrested.
