Group chased boy like 'pack of feral animals' before stabbing him

Liverpool Crown Court heard that a boy, who was 14 at the time, was stabbed in the thigh by a knife by a youth who was part of a “larger group” who had chased after him.

The judge said the attack had involved a “degree of pre-meditation and planning” and police later found messages on the boy’s phone relating to “weapons”.

Princess Avenue crime scene (Image: St Helens Star)

Three boys, two now aged 17 and the other 16, who cannot be identified due to an anonymity order imposed by the court, appeared today, Friday, to be sentenced.

The attacker, one of the 17-year-olds, and the other two defendants were part of the group which pursued the victim.

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Andrew Jebb, prosecuting, said the victim had been at Bishop Road fields on the evening of January 19, 2021, where he had “been asked by a friend of his to go and watch a pre-arranged fight”.

Mr Jebb added: “He met up with his friend and they went [to where this was] supposed to happen”.

However, the victim “heard someone saying that other group was coming so the group he was in ran off".

Hit on the back of the head

He added: “His group had mostly got away from the open area when (the victim) was hit in the back of his head with something hard that knocked him off his bike”. This caused him to “abandon his bike and he began to run off on foot.

“He ran in a northerly direction on to Gamble Avenue, he knew he was being pursued and “he was the slowest to get away so the pursuing group chased him as the nearest person to follow”.

Mr Jebb said that one of the boys said “’if you stop running, we won’t stab you’.

“He (the victim) was getting tired, at that point he stopped. One of the group approached him and told him to empty his pockets but as he did that it was then that a person produced what (the victim) described as a small knife and starts to attack him”.

Mr Jebb said the “victim felt himself being punched not appreciating that appreciating at that stage he was being stabbed to his left thigh.”

CCTV footage showing the victim being attacked and pursued by the group was played to the court.

Neighbours gave first aid

Mr Jebb said that afterwards, neighbours saw the victim and “provided first aid while ambulance and police were called.”

The victim was taken to hospital and his injuries included “two large lacerations” to his left thigh.

It was said he “required surgery under general anaesthetic”.

Mr Jebb said when the attacker, who was 15 at the time, was arrested on his mobile phone “it was clear that (he) thought the messages had been deleted but police were able to recover a large number of messages”.

These included one where he says “still need a few ‘chetes”.

Jo Maxwell, defending, said the attacker had an “ADHD diagnosis” and was of “previous good character and a prospect for rehabilitation”.

However, Judge Byrne said “there must be a period of detention” for the attacker, who was convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent.

'An appalling course of conduct'

Passing the sentence, the judge said “this was in my view an appalling course of conduct” and said the group had acted “like a pack of feral animals”.

He added: “It is lucky that this case isn’t a murder case”.

The judge said the attacker’s “culpability is high” and there was “planning on your part”.

He acknowledged mitigating factors, including his “ADHD diagnosis” and his “previous good character” and reduced the sentence length due to the time he had spent in custody on remand, making it a period of 20 months’ detention.

The other 17-year-old, who was convicted of violent disorder, was given a youth rehabilitation order including an 18-month supervision order, and a six-month drug treatment requirement.

Meanwhile, the 16-year-old, also convicted of violent disorder, was also given a youth rehabilitation disorder, including a 12-month supervision order, and a rehabilitation activity requirement.