A man who went on a ‘violent and racist rampage’ with a pair of garden secateurs asked a judge if he will serve ‘half or 33%’ of his sentence due to the early release prison scheme.
The ‘abhorrent’ incident saw David Noutch, 32, injure two Bradford College security guards on October 9 last year. He shouted Islamophobic abuse at students and staff. He also ran at them with the secateurs while saying ‘I’ll stab them all’.
Jailed for 37 months
On Wednesday (October 14), Noutch was jailed for 37 months at Bradford Crown Court after pleading guilty to two charges of assault, one of which was racially aggravated, threatening someone with a weapon, and a racially aggravated public order offence.
Following his sentence, Noutch, who appeared on a videolink from prison, put his hand up and asked the judge: “With the new laws that have come in … am I to serve half or 33%? I’m a bit unsure.”
Telling Noutch his defence barrister would be able to advise him, Recorder Palmer did note that the year he had already spent on remand would count towards his sentence.
Details of the attack
Some 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in stages over the next year, down from 6,000, as part of a government scheme to free up prison places.
Noutch had been drinking all night and slept rough in Bradford after missing his last train home on October 9 last year, the court heard.
He was seen on CCTV at about 9am approaching a group of Asian men and ‘shadow boxing’ before hitting one of them. The court also heard that the group retaliated, and Noutch was then surrounded by a group of students from nearby Bradford College who had told their security guards about the incident.
Once the guards arrived, Noutch was shouting racist and Islamophobic abuse at Asian students and staff.
The court heard that some people started to walk away when the incident seemed to calm down. Noutch took a pair of garden secateurs from his duffel bag and ran towards Asian members of staff saying ‘I’m going to stab them all’.
Impact on victims
Noutch assaulted two security guards as they tried to wrestle the weapon from him. A personal statement from one of the victims said he had been stabbed in the knee during the incident.
The victim added that the injuries he sustained stopped him from playing football and caused him to gain weight and become depressed. He also said he suffered sleepless nights and struggled to do his job without taking regular breaks.
Another security guard, who is a British-born Pakistani Muslim, said he had found the defendant’s comments ‘deeply upsetting’.
When police arrived Noutch continued to shout racist abuse, including a comment that ‘P**** wanted world dominance’, the court heard.
Jeremy Barton, mitigating for Noutch, said he had been ‘in a bad frame of mind’ that day after sleeping rough, and had not had his prescribed medication. He told the court: “He concedes his behaviour can only be described as disgraceful.”
