Thug who punched and knifed man faces deportation Man jailed for three years over ‘brutal’ and sustained assault

ATHUG who subjected a Runcorn man to a ‘brutal and sustained’ assault in which he punched and kicked him then cut his face with a knife has been sent down for three years.

Anatolij Krasnobryz, 31, of South Road, originally from Lithuania, is also facing potential deportation after 11 years in the UK.

Myles Wilson, prosecuting, told Chester Crown Court how Krasnobryz had turned violent in neighbour Stephen Todd’s flat on July 23 last year after Mr Todd told Krasnobryz that he had heard that his visitor had been responsible for an incident involving their two girlfriends.

Car wash business owner Krasnobryz stood up from where he was sitting, walked over and launched a flurry of punches on Mr Todd, knocking him off the couch where he was sitting and onto the floor where the attacker began kicking him, before heading to the kitchen to grab a knife which he returned with and held to Mr Todd’s forehead, cutting him.

Mr Todd ‘staggered’ from the property and was found by a passerby.

He had suffered cuts, bruises and a broken nose, which required surgery under general anaesthetic to correct the bones.

The court heard Krasnobryz only had one conviction, for drunk and disorderly from 2016, having been acquitted only the day before sentencing of one count of grievous bodily harm and two of actual bodily harm in connection with a separate trial resulting from an incident in 2016.

The attack on Mr Todd occurred while the defendant was on bail over that matter, and Augustine Okuvurumbairo, defending, said his client had only pleaded not guilty in connection with the assault on Mr Todd because he feared it would affect the outcome of the trial for the separate matter.

He added that his client was lightly convicted being essentially of ‘ good character’ and had run his own car wash, prompting glowing references including from his present girlfriend.

His client was now ‘likely’ to be deported, he said.

Krasnobryz had also been under the influence of drink at the time, but His Honour Judge Simon Berkson, presiding, said this was an aggravating feature under the guidelines.

Mr Wilson said the sentencing range was between two-and-a-half and four years with a starting point of three years.

Judge Berkson imposed an immediate prison sentence of three years.

Sending Krasnobryz down, he said: “That was a brutal and sustained attack by you upon him when you were in drink.

“You punched him so hard many times he fell off the couch.

“When he was off the couch, you kicked him.

“You went into the kitchen, picked up a knife and threatened him. “He thought he was going to be killed. “You say you were remorseful, no remorse was shown in the trial after which the jury convicted you. “Only now do you choose to say sorry. “I find those weasel words.”