Yahoo News Dad-of-three tries to stab man in violent street fight while another is Tasered by police
A fired-up and aggressive troublemaker was seen raising a knife above his head and trying to stab another man after a violent street fight outside a betting shop escalated out of control.
Frightening outbreaks of knife crime were now a serious problem on the streets and it was "all too common that people end up getting stabbed and lose their lives". It was only by pure chance that nobody was killed and there was a high risk that someone might have been stabbed, Hull Crown Court heard.
Ali Ahmed, 48, of Midgley Close, Hull, admitted possessing a blade on June 7 last year. Harry Bradford, prosecuting, said that police were alerted to a report of a fight, involving a group of people where a knife had been produced, in Sculcoates Lane, Hull.
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A policeman travelled in a vehicle down Beverley Road and he was flagged down by a member of the public waving his arms around. The officer stopped on Temple Street and saw seven or eight men fighting outside a bookmaker's shop. Ahmed had a knife in his hand and he was holding it above his head and trying to stab another man.
The police officer got out of his vehicle and drew his Taser and pointed it towards the men but they continued to fight. Another man hit another male on the head and he was Tasered.
"The defendant was handcuffed," said Mr Bradford. Ahmed was arrested and taken to Clough Road police station. A search of commercial bins near the scene of the disturbance revealed a green-handled lock knife on top of bags of rubbish. It had the name "Ali" engraved on it.
"It was an attempt to conceal evidence by putting the knife in the bin," said Mr Bradford. During police interview, Ahmed said that he and a friend had been fighting and the other men involved were trying to split them up.
"He explained that he did not know that it was illegal to carry such a weapon and he thought only large knives were illegal," added Mr Bradford. Ahmed, who had a Kurdish Sorani interpreter in court, had convictions for three previous offences but nothing for similar matters.
Leila Taleb, mitigating, said that Ahmed had previously been before courts for minor offences not involving violence and the most recent was 10 years ago. The knife offence was out of character.
"He accepted, in interview, what he had done and that's indicative of his remorse," said Miss Taleb. "There was a degree of minimisation.
"He has come to terms with the fact that he was using the knife in that way. This is the first serious and violent offence on his record. There is a low risk of reoffending in this case."
Father-of-three Ahmed worked cleaning HGV vehicles. He did voluntary work as a mediator for people in the Kurdish community. His wife was due to give birth to another child in October.
Judge Richard Woolfall told Ahmed: "Police were called to an incident outside a bookmaker's. You were observed to be holding a knife above your head and you were attempting to stab another male with it. You denied that you were the person using the knife in that way.
"You have subsequently accepted that was the way in which you were behaving. There was an element of minimisation and a reluctance to accept that you had behaved in that violent way.
"It's not suggested that anyone was actually stabbed but the risk of that, in my view, was high because of the way you were behaving. You had hidden that knife in a nearby bin.
"Unhappily, these courts deal with cases, in which people are stabbed, on a fairly regular basis, on a depressingly regular basis, and sadly, it's all too common that people end up getting stabbed and lose their lives.
"The use of a knife in this way is viewed very seriously. You were attempting to stab somebody with that knife. Attempting to stab somebody in the street with a knife, I'm afraid, has to be met with an immediate sentence of custody."
Ahmed was jailed for eight months.
