Steven Garth represented a defendant charged with with section 18 wounding and affray.
The background of the offence was that the defendant, Simon Pearson from Whitby, got involved in a serious incident of violence in the seaside town. He, with others, burst into a private house late at night and attacked the householder.
The victim was badly injured and required hospital treatment for serious wounds.
The Prosecution, in the end, accepted that Pearson had played a background role and was not the main aggressor.
In mitigation, delivered when the case was listed for sentence on Monday 24th April, at York Crown Court, Steven Garth succeeded in persuading the Judge, His Honour Judge Morris, that in the 14 months that had passed since the offence, the defendant had made a fresh start and had totally “transformed” his life.
He’d moved away from Whitby, had settled down with a young woman and her child, had gained stable accommodation, had kept out of trouble, had curtailed his drinking, had stopped drug taking, and had gained a college place to start in September.
Judge Morris declared himself impressed with Pearson’s recent efforts. Instead of immediate custody, sentence was suspended.
The Judge indicated that Pearson had avoided custody by an inch.
Steven Garth was instructed by Emma Solomon-Hill from Jason Nicholson Solicitors