A thug brandished a knife outside a Manchester city centre bar after being told he couldn't leave with his drink. Wiktor Kuca, 21, flew into a rage and headbutted a doorman at Walkabout after being challenged while carrying a bottle of WKD.
Just weeks before, he had participated in a brutal assault on two men following a disagreement over a beverage at an Eccles pub, a court was told. Kuca and several accomplices lay in wait outside The Spinners Arms before kicking and stamping on the victims, leaving one with a fractured nose.
Despite holding prior convictions for knife possession, he avoided custody after a judge determined on a 'fine balance' that there existed a 'realistic prospect of rehabilitation', reports the Manchester Evening News.
Knife produced at Printworks venue
Kuca was amongst a group of males and was clutching a bottle of the alcopop at the Printworks venue on 21 March last year when he was confronted by a security staff member, Manchester Crown Court was told.
"He told the defendant that he could not take the bottle with him, at which point the defendant refused and headbutted him", prosecutor Olivia Gatfield explained. The doorman attempted to restrain him alongside his colleagues, when Kuca 'produced a knife' and 'swung it' towards him, she stated.
The blade was 'fortunately' in its folded position, Ms Gatfield noted, though he attempted to swing it a second time before releasing it after being kicked in the elbow, she continued. Officers attended the scene and placed him under arrest. During questioning, he acknowledged consuming alcohol and cocaine throughout the evening and confessed to headbutting the doorman, the court was told. Yet he disputed having the knife, claiming the circumstances 'felt like a stitch up', Ms Gatfield stated.
In a victim impact statement presented to the court, the doorman said: "The incident made me feel like life is valuable. It has convinced me to wear more protective clothing for work, like my stab vest. It has made me re-evaluate my profession and my whole life, because I don't know who could be a danger to me and any day could be my last."
Horrendous assault outside Eccles pub
Just over a month before this incident, Kuca was also implicated in a 'horrendous' assault outside The Spinners Arms. Two individuals had been enjoying drinks and using the games room when they were confronted by a group of eight men who alleged one of them was 'drinking one of their drinks'.
A 'verbal argument' ensued during which someone from the group seized the man's beverage. That appeared to conclude the matter, but tensions flared up again approximately 20 minutes later, with one of the two men stepping in to prevent violence between his companion and the group.
Following the landlord's request for them to leave, CCTV footage captured Kuca's group 'waiting outside' and launching an attack on the two men as they departed the pub in the early hours of the next morning, subjecting them to 'serious and sustained violence', Ms Gatfield reported. Kuca was witnessed striking one of the men before 'jumping and stamping' on him twice while he lay on the ground, the court was told.
He and two accomplices then struck the second man, who had tried to intervene as a peacemaker inside the pub, to the ground, where he was beaten and kicked once more. Kuca then stamped on his companion a further six times before the group finally departed, Ms Gatfield stated.
The man who had attempted to act as a peacemaker regained consciousness on the floor and was informed an ambulance had been summoned. He was transported to Salford Royal Hospital where it was discovered he had sustained a fractured nose and two black eyes, alongside bruising and cuts to the head.
In a victim impact statement, he stated: "This has made me feel isolated and I moved back in with my dad for a while as I no longer felt safe at my own address. My confidence has been knocked and my anxiety has increased. I am looking to move out of this are as I no longer feel safe in Eccles. This attack has left me with permanent injuries, my broken nose is affecting my breathing, and I am starting to have headaches more. I also have permanent scars on my face".
Judge warns knife carrying 'must stop now'
'This was a horrendous attack on the individuals concerned'. Kuca, of Scotta Road, Eccles, admitted guilt at earlier hearings to possession of a bladed article, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and affray. The court was told Kuca was serving a suspended sentence when he committed the offences, which he also admitted breaching.
He had received 11 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, in November 2023 for two earlier offences of possessing a bladed article. Emmanuel Coniah, defending, explained Kuca had endured considerable 'trauma' during childhood and had been stabbed as a teenager, leading him to believe he needed to carry a knife to 'protect himself', he said.
He told the court Kuca, who had been held on remand for approximately seven months, had given up alcohol and drugs. He was engaged, acted as a 'father figure' to his partner's child and had strong employment prospects should he avoid immediate imprisonment, he added.
Recorder Andrew Vinson stated that 'carrying a knife is not something anyone in a civilised society should be doing' and warned Kuca 'it must stop now'. He described the violence at the Eccles pub as a 'horrendous attack on the individuals concerned' which 'could have been far, far worse'.
He said despite his criminal record, given his age and the fact that 'steps had been taken' to 'try and address matters' in his life, he felt 'there remains a realistic prospect of rehabilitation'. He said he had 'only just' concluded that it would be 'unjust' to activate the suspended sentence, and consequently, was able to suspend Kuca's overall sentence. "This was a very, very fine balance" the judge told him.
"If you find yourself in possession of a bladed article again, the sentence will be activated and there will be other consequences" he said. Kuca received a total sentence of two years and four months, suspended for two years. He was directed to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and to participate in the Building Choices Programme.
Additionally, he was handed a £1,000 fine for breaching his suspended sentence, ordered to pay £800 in compensation to the assault victim, and £150 towards costs.
