Two teenagers have been sentenced after a brawl involving more than 20 people in Swansea left one person with a serious brain injury and another with a fractured eye socket and torn ear lobe.
Curtis Williams, 19, and Oakley Roberts, 18, appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. The charges related to an assault on a 17-year-old during large-scale disorder in Landore on December 31 last year.
Violence spills from pub to streets
Craig Jones, prosecuting, told the court that groups of males were in the Globe Inn pub on New Year's Eve when arguments broke out and tensions escalated, resulting in violence, including one customer being glassed. A number of people were ejected from the premises, and the violence then spilled out onto the streets, where significant public disorder occurred on Mysydd Road, Pentre-Treharne Road, and Sharpsburg Place.
The court heard that the complainant was pushed and punched by Williams and ended up pinned against a parked car. A number of other males, including Roberts, then became involved, with both defendants kicking the cornered teenager. During the melee, a female voice was heard shouting, "You can't kick him in the head."
Police called and arrests made
Police arrived at the scene at around 10pm after being called by members of the public reporting fighting in the streets. The complainant was taken to Morriston Hospital, where medics found a fractured eye socket, a wound on his cheek, and a torn ear lobe. The injured teenager told police he had been "battered" but declined to provide a victim impact statement, saying he was fearful of potential repercussions.
Williams initially tried to downplay his involvement and hid his blood-stained clothes under his bed, though he later handed the items to police. He answered "no comment" to all questions in interview. Roberts told police he had kicked the complainant in the body after "emotions got the better of him."
Other individuals not charged
A youth involved in the incident was given an out-of-court caution, while it was decided it was not in the public interest to pursue charges against another male identified as an "aggressor" because of the significant brain injury he sustained. The male who caused the injury to the aggressor was not charged after it was determined he was acting in self-defence. Another male described as "both victim and aggressor" was not charged but has subsequently been charged with affray in relation to an incident on Wind Street later on New Year's Eve.
Ian Ibrahim, for Williams, said the incident as a whole had been prolonged, but the assault the court was dealing with had been short-lived and spontaneous. He said the group of males his client was not a part of subsequently made its way to the city centre, where offences were committed. Giles Hayes, for Roberts, said it appeared the entire incident of disorder had involved more than 20 people, and that his client, who was 17 at the time, was acting as a "peacemaker" when he was struck and knocked to the floor, responding by kicking the person he thought was responsible.
Sentences suspended
Judge Christopher Vosper KC noted "there seems to have been a general unwillingness from witnesses to assist the police, possibly because they themselves had been involved in unlawful violence." He said it was clear from pre-sentence reports that both defendants had insight into the offending and were remorseful.
With one-quarter discounts for their guilty pleas, Williams and Roberts were each sentenced to 36 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months, and were ordered to complete rehabilitation courses and 150 hours of unpaid work in the community. The judge said under new sentencing provisions, a sentence of 36 weeks was one he was obliged to suspend, but even if that did not apply, he would still have suspended the terms as there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
