Man Jailed For Two Years Over Chav Stabbing (from The Northern Echo)

Very interesting case in the NE. Here divisions between chav/emos are used as a defence in court over a stabbing incident. Unusually here it is the emo in trouble but it seems he had a history and much provocation at least according to him. Some similarities to the Dele Little case I think. It looks like it started out with an abusive behaviour incident and then escalated. Of course this being a court case it is difficult to know what exactly happened.

The key point is that once again subcultural divisions ended up with violence.

Man Jailed For Two Years Over Chav Stabbing (from The Northern Echo)

Dec 11th

A MAN has today been jailed for two years for knifing a teenager at the Stockton Riverside Festival.

The judge told Michael Dixon, 22, that he had marred the festival which was a joyous event and something of which the people of Stockton could be proud.

Fear spread along the town's Finkle Street when Dixon was seen covered in blood and waving a knife, said prosecutor Martina Connolly. Ambulance staff went to the aid of Dixon's victim Michael Hancock, 19, whom he stabbed twice in the back on August 4 with a Swiss Army knife, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Michael Hancock had gone to the aid of his friend James Parker who was in an altercation with Dixon. Mr Hancock was walking away when he felt a hard punch to his back, and when he turned around he saw Dixon screaming abuse at him.

The pair rolled over on the ground punching and kicking but it ended when Mr Hancock pushed Dixon away.

Mr Hancock's friends then noticed that his back was bleeding heavily. He was treated in hospital and discharged within hours.

When Dixon saw the police he was still waving the knife and he shouted at them "Come on", added Miss Connolly. During his arrest he threw the knife over a wall but it was recovered later.

Dixon was drunk, and when he was interviewed the next day he said that it had been an argument between chavs and emos - fans of emotional, heavy metal music who wear tight clothing.

Dixon claimed that he had the knife to open bottles, and he said he regretted his actions.

Miss Connolly said that Dixon had previous convictions for possessing a machete and a knife, and for violence.

Robin Denny, defending, said that a prison sentence was inevitable. He said that Dixon was an emo who had been picked on by Mr Hancock, a chav with convictions for drunk and disorderly behaviour, affray and assault on police.

He added: "The defendant initially intended to frighten the victim. He was obviously initially attacked by someone who is particularly prone to attacking people for no good reason late at night."

The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Peter Fox QC told Dixon: "Your drunkenness affords you not the slightest excuse.

"You have got a very bad record for violence, but in particular this is the fourth time in your young life that you have been convicted of having an offensive weapon.

"The suggestion that you had bought that Swiss Army knife to open bottles is all very well. There are such things as bottle openers, you don't stab people in the back with a bottle opener."

The judge added: "The Riverside Festival is something that the people of Stockton can be proud of. It's a happy, joyous event, almost everybody behaves themselves and has a good time. You're the exception, your behaviour was particularly bad."

Dixon of Mapleton Road, Hartlepool, was jailed for two years after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, unlawful wounding and affray.

Riverside Festival knife attacker jailed - Gazette Live

Dec 11 2007 Evening Gazette

Mr Hancock had gone to the aid of his friend James Parker who had been in an altercation with Dixon, 22.

Mr Hancock was walking away when he felt a hard punch to his back. When he turned round he saw Dixon screaming abuse at him.

The pair rolled on the ground punching and kicking but it ended when Mr Hancock pushed Dixon away.

Mr Hancock’s friends then noticed that his back was bleeding heavily, leaving him needing hospital treatment.

When Dixon was interviewed the next day he said it had been an argument between chavs and emos - fans of emotional, heavy metal music who wore tight clothing.

Dixon claimed that he had the knife to open bottles, and he said he regretted his actions.

He pleaded guilty on the basis he was with his girlfriend when he was attacked by Mr Hancock and another.

Meanwhile...

Rome and Juliet - a review

Weston & Somerset Mercury, UK - 14 Dec 2007

THE audience at The Kings of Wessex School escaped the wild December weather last Thursday and Friday evening (6 and 7/12/07) to journey to Verona for the Year 9 Thespians' production of Shakespeare's first romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet.

This modern interpretation used minimal props. The bold black and white Ying Yang motif on stage was a vivid reminder of the playoff between opposites. The two sworn rival families: the Capulets (Juliet) and Montagues (Romeo) were brought to life via the students' portrayal of today's "Chavs" and "Emos". The warring factions brutally manifested in the realistic fight scenes were all too reminiscent of the divisions in today's society and across the globe. Following the deaths of Romeo's friend Mercutio (Max Hopestone Bell) by Tybalt (Russ Eccleston), swiftly followed by his killing at the hand of Romeo, a plague is cursed upon both houses, setting the scene for more tragedy.

And yet love blossoms between Romeo and Juliet who in the famous balcony scene arrange a secret marriage with the help of Friar Lawrence (Adam Clegg) and the Nurses (Aggie Morris/John Male). Their first kiss is sealed with suitably, striking strobe lighting.

As a technical devise, music is used well. The pulsating opening beat builds up to the cacophony in the street scene foretelling more drama. Whilst the Chavs' dance sequences were slinky, posing to Justin Timberlake's Love Stoned, the Emos opt for the aggressive, fight-inspiring Hard Fi's Suburban Knights.

Costumes were jeans and coloured t-shirts, with Romeo and Juliet in red t-shirts - very much the roses of the show and just as sweet. 13-year old Ben Champion plays love-struck Romeo, akin to a dreamy troubadour, wandering about stage as "fortune's fool". With touching tenderness, "never was such beauty" 14-year old Sophie Caunt plays Juliet at the same age.

"Thou canst not speak if thou canst not feel". Indeed, Kings' 13 and 14-year old cast of strong performers artfully mastered the Bard's language, demonstrating understanding, with plenty of dramatic anger and desperation in the face of doomed love.

This story of woe was a "heavy day" that would not be easily forgotten. As Massive Attack played out the end with "Teardrop", the audience reflected on the play's contemporary themes - arranged marriages, fighting on the streets, feuding between inner city estates... Ultimately, the love potion, like Shakespeare's favourite theme of misadventure, is taken to its most fatal conclusion.

Death in Totton - when namecalling ended in a stabbing

In Hampshire the ending of a recent trial for murder on the 24^th of October 2007 has led to the police patrolling the streets to prevent more violence. This trial was sparked by the very real divisions and problems we are covering here.

Aaron Roche 21, was acquitted of the charge of murder for fatally stabbing Dele Little, 15, of Powell Crescent, Totton, in a fight at West Totton Centre in February this year. The fight between the two was sparked by Little’s earlier fight with Roche’s girlfriend Kayleigh Shinn. The fight that developed was an unequal affair in that Little was larger, stronger and more skilled than his opponent despite being younger. According to his version of events when he was badly battered and on the floor Roche decided to draw a butterfly knife he was carrying, at this stage his hoodie was pulled up and he could not see properly. His opponent was then stabbed in the scuffle and later died . (Roche described the fight in court one of Little's mates gave his version here Court told how fight broke out).

What is generally not highlighted in the coverage was the flashpoint for the situation:

Roche, then 20, had run to the West Totton Centre after hearing that his girlfriend Kayleigh Shinn had been hurt and repeatedly pushed to the floor by youths.Miss Shinn - known as "La" to her friends - had gone to Tesco Express with her 17-year-old friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to buy cigarettes just before 9pm on Saturday, February 3 this year. The pair had spent the afternoon drinking WKD, Malibu and Jack Daniels in The Ship pub in Rumbridge Street, Totton, before making the short journey to the store from a nearby house.

Winchester Crown Court heard how when the girls left the shop they were verbally abused by a gang of up to 15 youths - mainly boys - who had congregated in a nearby circular area known locally as the "bull ring". Jurors heard how 6ft Dele was a "ringleader" in the group who were shouting and swearing and calling both girls "goths" before Miss Shinn was thrown "like a frisbee in the air" on to the ground.

Jurors heard how the 17-year-old girl sent text messages saying "help" and "La's been hurt" and minutes later Roche happened to call her mobile and she told him what was happening. report

Here are more details as described by Shinn’s Teenage friend in court:

The girl told the court yesterday she had gone to the area with 18-year-old Kayleigh Shinn, who she had spent the afternoon drinking with at The Ship pub in Rumbridge Street, Totton, to buy cigarettes from Tesco Express. As they walked out of the store the girl told Winchester Crown Court how they were verbally abused, sworn at and called "goths".

Miss Shinn was then knocked to the ground before she got herself up, clutching a stick which she was waving at the boys. The girl said she watched as Miss Shinn was "chucked on the floor again with a lot more force" by Dele Little adding "she looked like a frisbee going through the air".

Another witness stated that:

The girl had also been at the centre with friends when the trouble flared between Dele and Kayleigh Shinn. Jurors heard how the girl, who was 14 at the time, remembered Miss Shinn telling Dele "my boyfriend's not going to be happy with you" and shouting "my boyfriend will come down and kill him" but she didn't take what she was saying seriously. Asked about the argument, she said Dele and his friends had been calling Miss Shinn and her 17-year-old friend "emo's" - a way of describing how someone dresses - before the stabbing on the night of Saturday, February 3. "I'm struggling to breathe," the last words of stabbed Dele

Here is another report from from another witness from the Echo:

Teenager in tears as she recalls Dele's dying moments

The girl said she had been with her friends in "the bullring" by the West Totton Centre on the night of Saturday, February 3 when Dele and his mates got into an argument with two girls. She told the court "It was verbal for quite a while but then it got a bit physical" adding that the argument continued for about three minutes.

She said: "The girl (Kayleigh Shinn) started to get really angry and she walked off to get a plank of wood. She was warning him not to say anything else or touch her because she would hit him with it and he said don't me silly. You're not going to do that.' She went to sling the plank of wood to hit Dele and Dele reached out and slung the wood and she hit the floor."

Newspaper reports published at the time of the death of Dele Little in Febuary Teen killed for being a 'Chav' | Metro.co.uk draw a picture, based on talking to Dele’s friends :

Dele and his friends were outside a shopping centre in Totton, Southampton, when the attack happened on Saturday. A friend, who asked not be named, said: 'A girl walked past, shouting and calling us chavs. She tried to hit Dele with a block of wood. Dele pushed her.' The 15-year-old added: 'She came back and started hitting him again. She phoned her boyfriend on her mobile. He turned up and started a fight. Dele was stabbed. There was blood everywhere.'

Roche, an ex-public schoolboy, drew on a wide variety of character witnesses in the trial testifying to his good character, which helped balance out the fact he had a large collection of knives at home and that several witnesses testified that he had earlier before the fight threatened to stab Little. In contrast Little’s background involved being in trouble before with the police for fighting, assault, bullying and he was excluded from school. Following Roche's acquittal there were: High visibility police patrols in Totton following murder verdict. Websites were censored due to various threats of vengeance. The trial has also helped spark a campaign to end knife carrying . Obviously an end to use of weapons would make Britain a safer place and is an excellent plan.

Yet it seems to me from what happened in Totton another thing is equally clear - that the flashpoint of the original argument was due to the perceived differences between Little’s group and Roche’s girlfriend and her friend and the verbal abuse and aggression that followed. If these minor differences in clothes had been ignored, and both sides had tolerated and respected each other, no fight would have occurred in first place and Dele Little would still be alive and safe with his friends and family. The same is also true of Sophie Lancaster.

Whether it is "chavs" abusing "goths" or vica versa it is equally wrong and as these events prove it can lead to tragedy. In a free country we must respect peoples right to live their own lives they way they choose. After all that is the freedom for which so many in British history have fought and died for. How many more people must die before this can be learned? Rest in Peace Dele Little I hope that no-one else must die before this pointless hatred ends.

More details here search the Echo archives:
Dele Little Trial 1 The Dele Little Trial 2
Dele Little - Online Memorial