A teenager from Harrogate who stabbed a nurse so viciously he had his spleen removed was on bail at the time for torching two seaside chalets and causing almost £150,000 of damage.
The youth – who was just 15 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons – left a man within an inch of his life after being beaten and stabbed repeatedly, York Crown Court heard.
On January 3 this year, the teen was part of a gang of three youths who robbed a man at knifepoint after he had been to a cashpoint.
The victim – a Romanian national who worked as a nurse – was “stabbed, kicked and robbed” in an alleyway in Harrogate town centre in the early hours of the morning when the gang stole £100 from him.
The 15-year-old – who was already on a youth rehabilitation order after accumulating a “shocking” criminal record of 41 previous offences – was the one who delivered the blows with the 10-inch blade. The victim suffered horrific internal injuries and had to have his spleen removed.
Prosecutor Mark McKone said:
“His bowel was damaged (and) he had to have a colostomy (operation). (The victim) had a one-inch stab wound in his left side.
“There were two penetrating wounds to the diaphragm, two penetrating wounds to the colon, leading to removal of part of the bowel and a colostomy. The spleen was removed. That has left (the victim) susceptible to infection for life.”
The victim, said to be a family man, also suffered wounds above his eye and to his upper arm, a punctured lung and cuts to his knees. Surgeons managed to repair the damage but had to fit a colostomy bag.
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Mr McKone said that the 15-year-old – who has roots in both Harrogate and Scarborough – was the “lead” player in the attack. He said:
“CCTV showed (the victim) laid on his back, with his arms and legs splayed out in an attempt to fend (the teen) off. (The teenager) kicked him to the legs and body. All three (youths) were surrounding (the victim).
“(The teenager) leant forward with the knife. He brought the knife down in a wide, sweeping, slashing motion, using so much force that the knife ricocheted off the left eyebrow bone and fell on the pavement.”
The victim went back to Romania temporarily to convalesce, but he could no longer exercise or play with his young son. He was also unable to use his skills as a nurse to help during the pandemic.
The teenager fled to Leeds following the attack, where the knife was thrown into a stream. He told police he had taken cocaine about an hour before the attack and didn’t know what he was doing.
£149,400 repair bill
The court also heard details of the arson offence for which he was on bail. The teen, high on cocaine and booze, was in Scarborough’s North Bay in the early hours of August 22 last year with another youth carrying a box of matches.
They broke into Peasholm Park Cafe and stole £60 from the till. The teens also burgled two seafront chalets in North Bay, stealing hundreds of pounds’ worth of goods, wrecking the holiday homes and damaging 14 others.
Six chalets were severely fire-damaged and strewn with smashed glass from broken windows, said Mr McKone. The repair bill came to £149,400.
The 15-year-old defendant was brought in for questioning but said he was “just watching the fire service putting the fire out”.
‘Challenging’ behaviour
Defence barrister Tom Storey, for the youth, said he had a drink and drug problem and had downed about eight cans of beer before the arson attack.
The teen – now 16 – had already admitted the Harrogate robbery, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing an offensive weapon when he appeared at the Crown Court in February, when his young accomplices were given custodial sentences of at least 18 months.
Appearing in court via video link on Tuesday wearing a white designer T-shirt, he admitted three counts of burglary, criminal damage and arson in relation to the offences in Scarborough. He was to be sentenced for the “planned” robbery, GBH and knife possession in Harrogate at the same time.
Mr Storey said the teenager’s family had lived a “transient” life and he ultimately ended up in care where his behaviour was described as “challenging”. His offending began at the age of 14, when he was placed in a children’s home in Scarborough.
‘Dangerous young man’
Judge Sean Morris said despite the teen’s tender years, he had to lock him up “because I consider you to be a dangerous young man”.
Mr Morris said the stab victim had suffered “life-changing” injuries and told the youth he had shown a distinct lack of remorse. He added:
“That man was lucky to get away with his life. And while he lie wounded and bleeding on the ground, you robbed him. You could have left him for dead.”
The youth was jailed for four years and eight months, of which he will serve at least two-thirds behind bars, possibly even the whole tariff if he is still judged to be dangerous.
The judge ordered that upon his release, he must serve an extended three years on prison licence due to his “exceptionally serious record…which beggared belief”.
The other youth involved in the arson and burglary incidents has also admitted the offences and will be sentenced on September 25. He was 14 at the time and lives in Scarborough.
