Thug is behind bars after reign of terror

YOUNG MAN LEFT WITH EPILEPSY AFTER ‘BRUTAL’ STREET ATTACK AND WOMAN ROBBED AT KNIFEPOINT

A TEENAGE thug was part of a ‘posse’ that left one young man with epilepsy following a ‘brutal’ attack, robbed a woman of a Mercedes at knifepoint, and drove a car in a children’s play area.

Dean Irvine, 18, is now behind bars for seven years following the gang’s month-long crime spree.

The teenager had a desire for quick cash, a judge said.

A probation report read in court said Irvine was ‘dissatisfied’ with his life and that the offences were influenced by a ‘desire for ready money.’

He admitted being part of a gang which followed and attacked three young men in Salford.

A 19-year-old man suffered a fractured skull and bleed on the brain and has since been diagnosed with epilepsy, meaning he can’t drive and can no longer complete a course to become an electrician.

One attacker had a brick, another had a knife and a third had ‘some form of bar,’ Manchester crown court was told. Another victim was hit on back of his head by what he thought was a brick, then repeatedly kicked as he lay defenceless on the floor. He escaped with a broken hand.

Irvine pleaded guilty to two counts of section 18 assault under the joint enterprise law.

Judge Elizabeth Nicholls told him: “Many people die from less than that. You could have faced charges of murder - that is how serious this offence is.”

Irvine was offending again just ten days later on March 28, when police spotted a Peugeot he was driving at high speed around Cheetham Hill, just before 1pm. Police said the car was ‘out of control’ and ‘almost on two wheels.’

They followed Irvine to his grandmother’s house, but he sped off again, cutting through a pedestrian area with grass and a children’s play area.

Officers abandoned the chase as they thought it was too dangerous to continue. Prosecutors said one of the three men in the car was ‘laughing and gesticulating towards the officers’ as they made their getaway.

Two days later, police saw Irvine in Cheetham Hill and arrested him. They found he also had a snap bag of cannabis. Irvine pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance and possession of cannabis.

Then on April 11, Irvine stole a saw worth £250 from outside a business in Salford. He pleaded guilty to theft.

About half an hour later, Irvine was part of a group which committed a knifepoint robbery. They followed a woman driving a Mercedes into a residential parking area, and threatened her with a six-inch ‘hunter’s knife.’

In panic and trying to flee, she fell over. They manhandled her, snatching her keys and driving off in the Mercedes, which has never been recovered. Irvine admitted he was the robber wielding the knife. He pleaded guilty to robbery.

Defending, Adam Brown said Irvine had just turned 18 at the time, and had no previous convictions.

Judge Nicholls said she had adjusted the sentence due to Irvine’s age, handing down a seven-year sentence in a young offender institution.

She said: “That will appear a long time for an 18-year-old man, but you must seize the opportunities that are presented to you.

“You have an opportunity now to turn your life around.”