Drunken thug stabbed pal in the back after night drinking in Wakefield

Joshua Stroud pulled out the weapons and was rugby tackled by his friend when he refused to drop them, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Rukhshanda Hussain said that Stroud was seen stabbing the man in back three times with one of the blades.

Stroud, 23, admitted a charge of GBH without intent and possession of bladed articles in public.

Miss Hussain told the court that he had been with a group of friends drinking in Wakefield on the evening of August 23, 2019.

At some point in the evening, Stroud got involved in a disagreement with one of the group and stormed off.

At around 11.30pm, the group had been walking home along Ramsey Road in Middlestown when Stroud jumped out of an alleyway about 30 yards away, waving what the group thought were two mini Samurai swords.

The group said he looked angry and ignored requests by the group to drop the weapons.

The victim then tackled Stroud and both fell to the floor grappling. He dropped one of the blades, but stabbed the man with the other in his right hand.

When they were finally pulled apart, the the victim was bleeding from his back and an ambulance was called.

He was taken to LGI where he spent two nights. They were unable to stitch the wounds because they were close to the muscle, which meant his recovery took longer.

A victim impact statement read out by Miss Hussain said the wounds took six months to heal, and in that time he was unable to work as a labourer and lost his job and home.

He had now found work as a floor fitter but said he struggled to work with knives and suffers from anxiety.

Stroud initially told police that the victim had fallen on the knife when he tackled him and denied a charge of GBH with intent.

He said he felt that that the group were coming to his house so armed himself.

He later admitted a charge of wounding without intent which was accepted by the crown.

The court was told that Stroud, now of Denton Street, Barnsley, had no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Satpal Roth-Sharma said he had been drinking "quite excessively" at the time and offered deep regret for his actions for what she described as a "moment of poor decision making".

She said: "He has matured somewhat. After this incident he chose to go to Alcoholics Anonymous and now celebrates sobriety.

"He is a changed person and has turned his life around."

Judge Simon Phillips QC jailed him for 25 months and said that while he did not intend to injure any one that night, he was not acting in self defence.

He added: "They were fearsome weapons capable of being used to inflict fatal injury.

"You were aggressive and refused to drop the weapons.

"It's clear you are remorseful and regret the poor decisions you made. You were living a lifestyle that was chaotic and frequently drinking to excess.

"To your credit you have ceased using alcohol."

Stroud was given a restraining order of indeterminate length to keep him away from the victim.