A man was stabbed in the back with a knife outside a primary school in Swansea. The knifeman, Joseph Cullen, then chased his victim as the injured man fled the scene.
Incident Outside St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
On December 6 last year, an altercation occurred on the street outside St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in the Brynmelyn area of Swansea. Prosecuting barrister Ieuan Rees told Swansea Crown Court that Rebecca Stubbs, also known as Rebecca Nicholson, and the complainant Jonathan Yeandle became involved in a row. The dispute appeared to stem from Mr Yeandle failing to keep a promise to recover stolen items belonging to Stubbs.
As Mr Yeandle tried to leave, the defendant Cullen appeared and stabbed him twice in the back with a large knife. Mr Yeandle fled along Llangyfelach Street towards Dyfatty lights, with Cullen in pursuit.
Arrests and Charges
Stubbs and Cullen were located and arrested. Stubbs made serious allegations against Mr Yeandle. Both were initially charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, which they denied, and the case was set for trial. However, the complainant Mr Yeandle refused to attend the trial, leading to the defendants pleading to lesser charges, which were accepted by the prosecution.
Joseph Cullen, aged 26, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and possession of a knife. He has eight previous convictions for 66 offences, including four assaults by beating and possession of an offensive weapon and a bladed article. Rebecca Stubbs, aged 28, of Edward Street, Carlisle, pleaded guilty to assault by beating. She has 14 previous convictions for 28 offences, including 13 assaults, mostly on emergency workers.
Mitigation and Sentencing
Andrew Evans, defending Cullen, said his client experienced appalling childhood experiences that led to drug misuse and offending. He believed Mr Yeandle had significantly wronged Stubbs, someone he was close to, and reacted in a wholly inappropriate manner. While on remand, Cullen had been prescribed medication for his addictions.
Ryan Bowen, for Stubbs, said it would be difficult to imagine more troubling childhood circumstances than those experienced by his client, who began taking illicit substances at age nine. He acknowledged that during her time in Swansea, Stubbs surrounded herself with a negative peer group and became involved in the dark world of drug misuse. However, her stepfather had travelled from Carlisle to support her, and she now has the stable environment she lacked in her formative years.
Judge Geraint Walters told Cullen that the only thing separating him from a sentence for unlawful wounding and a life sentence for murder was pure luck. With a 10% discount for his guilty pleas, Cullen was sentenced to 30 months in prison. He will serve half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
The judge noted that Stubbs had spent seven months in prison on remand awaiting trial, effectively serving a sentence longer than one he could impose for the summary-only offence of assault by beating. Stubbs was given a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation requirement.
