Man attacked best friend with knuckleduster
A MAN has narrowly avoided jail after launching a brutal knuckleduster attack on his best friend.
Tyler Ellis Renwick, 22, had been out drinking with his close pal on the night of April 15, 2019, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
After visiting several Newcastle nightclubs, the pair decided to get a room in the Premier Inn on Newgate Street.
Joylon Perks, prosecuting, told the court the victim had agreed to pay for the room on the basis Renwick would pay him back half – but when he asked for his share, the man he’d once considered a friend launched into a sudden, unprovoked attack.
Mr Perks said: “He woke up, having been rendered unconscious, face down on the bed, with the defendant standing over him.
“The defendant told him ‘you’re in a bad way.’ He made his way to the bathroom where he could see in the mirror that he had significant injuries to his face.
“He was immediately aware that the defendant had used a weapon on him and had rendered him unconscious.”
Among his injuries were a “laceration” to the right hand side of his face, while an X-ray later revealed three facial fractures which required invasive surgery.
In a statement read to the court, the victim said Renwick’s attack had left him suffering long-lasting consequences from the attack, including mood swings and “vivid and terrifying” flashbacks.
His mental health had worsened, he had lost motivation for work and universities studies, and he had suffered from suicidal thoughts.
He also endured lasting physical consequences of the attack, with pain and altered sensation to his face.
Mitigating, Rachel Hedworth told the court the 22-year-old, who had no previous convictions, was “utterly remorseful”, and couldn’t understand why he had lashed out, though he acknowledged he had had “far too much to drink”.
“He is unable to advance any possible reason or excuse for the behaviour
which he finds himself utterly abhorrent,” she said.
Renwick, of Chandos Street, Deckham, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm and a second of having an offensive weapon.
After considering a report from probation officers and a psychiatrist, which noted Renwick was not considered to be a risk to the public,
Judge Robert Adams handed him a 20-month sentence, but agreed to suspend it for 18 months.
Renwick will have to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, 25 days of rehabilitation activities, and be subject to a curfew for the next six months.
He was also banned from contacting the victim in any way through an indefinite restraining order.