Acid attack teen yob jailed for six years
A Teenager who squirted acid into the face of a rival gang member has been jailed for six years.
Donell Wilkins, 18, used a sports drink bottle to spray the acid at the 17-year-old, who suffered burns to his eye and cheek.
CCtV of the incident showed Wilkins initially attempting to squirt the substance at one teenager in a gang clash under a shop awning.
When a second teenager approaches him Wilkins holds the bottle in both hands before he squeezes it into the boy’s face at close range.
He then trades punches with the first teenager before walking off. His victim was taken to hospital with burns caused by a corrosive liquid that has never been properly identified. Police recognised Wilkins from the CCtV footage and arrested him. the attack happened in Kingston, South West London, where Wilkins lives.
He was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court of throwing a corrosive substance ‘with intent to burn, maim, disfigure, disable or commit gBH’.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘Wilkins was one of a group of teenagers who became involved in a dispute with two other males.
‘Without warning, Wilkins sprayed the corrosive substance at one of the males before walking away from the scene. the victim went to hospital where he was treated for burns to his face and eye before being discharged.’ It is the latest example of acid attacks that have blighted the nation’s streets.
earlier this week Xeneral Webster, 19, was jailed for 17 years for committing the first acid killing in Britain. He admitted manslaughter after an acid bottle he used to intimidate a rival was knocked from his hand and splattered over Joanne rand, who was sitting on a bench nearby.
Dementia nurse Miss rand, 47, died 11 days later of multiple organ failure. Assaults involving corrosive substances have more than doubled in england since 2012. the Sentencing Council has labelled acid a ‘highly dangerous weapon’.
Life sentences can be handed down for the most serious acid attacks.