Nightclub thug facing jail over his failure to do unpaid work
A THUG who was spared jail after leaving a man with a broken jaw outside a Derby nightclub may yet face prison as he is yet to do his unpaid work.
Derby Crown Court heard that since being handed a community order in October 2019, Edgars Lasas has only completed 54 of the 180 hours he was ordered to do.
A hearing was told the 21-year-old already had 10 more hours added to it, last May, for breaching it the first time but since then, he has failed to turn up on three more occasions, despite warnings.
Judge Robert Egbuna remanded Lasas into custody and will sentence him later this week as he turned up at the same hearing without any legal representation.
He said: “When you appeared before me last I gave you a clear warning about what would happen breached the order again.”
Lasas replied from the dock: “You said it was my last chance.”
In October 2019, the same court was told his attack victim had to have metal plates fitted to his face after being assaulted by Lasas and a second man.
CCTV footage played at that hearing showed the first man struck the victim once to the face in an alley next to MooMoo in St James Street. The force of the blow sent him to the ground and he got up but Lasas then immediately punched and kicked him and assaulted a second man before leaving.
A staff member at MooMoo was able to recognise both men from CCTV as if you they had been ejected from the club moments earlier. But because it was not clear which of the pair landed the blow or blows that caused the injury, the Crown Prosecution Service had to accept lesser charges against them.
In a victim impact statement, the man whose jaw was broken said: “I feel like I was targeted because I was drunk and not able to protect myself.
“I have younger siblings who look up to me and see me as a role model and since this happened I have not wanted them to see my swollen face. I came to Derby to get a job a few months ago and since this happened I have moved back to Newcastle where I am originally from. I did not deserve to get my jaw broken.”
The incident took place at around 2am on July 19, 2019. The victim and his friends along with Lasas had all been thrown out of MooMoo after people had squared up to each other on the dance floor. Lasas, then 20, and a warehouse worker of Franchise Street, admitted assault and affray. He was handed a two-year community order, with 180 hours unpaid work and was ordered to pay £400 compensation.
Lauren Butts, prosecuting, said: “He has failed to do his unpaid work completing 54 of the now 190 hours he was ordered to so despite being contacted on three occasions by the probation service by both calls and emails.
“He did get back to them to say he had changed his address and that he rarely checked his emails, but that caused concern for the probation service as he is supposed to tell them about any change of address and hadn’t.”