Birthday party brawl ended with stabbing
A BIRTHDAY party at a busy Indian restaurant descended into ‘mayhem’ and ended with a teenager being stabbed.
A mass brawl broke out at East Z East in Whitefield during a joint party for two teenage girls, following a fight between two other girls.
Two teenage boys brandished a cosh and another used a knife to stab a 16-year-old boy to the stomach, leaving him seriously hurt.
Knifeman Asa Millar, then 16, has now been jailed for three years for the stabbing. Three others, Charlie Wallbank, Jacob Wazo and Jack Conway, all 16 or 17 at the time, appeared in court for affray following the ugly fracas.
A mum had booked a joint party for her daughter and her best friend, hiring the restaurant’s upstairs function room.
Trouble flared after a fight between two girls broke out on March 30, 2019, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Millar got involved, throwing a punch at one girl and then trying to kick her as she lay on the floor. It’s thought he was in a relationship with the other girl.
Wazo tried to pull Millar away, but was then confronted by the victim.
The victim threw a punch at Wazo, with a fight between them breaking out near the DJ booth. Wallbank was one of a group who tried to pull them apart.
Millar was then seen to brandish a large knife, lunging towards the victim as they scuffled. Wazo and Wallbank were both seen to wield a cosh, with Wazo swinging it towards the victim.
Wallbank and Conway became embroiled in a fight, with Conway picking up a hammer and swinging it at him. The victim fled the restaurant and collapsed in a nearby ginnel.
He later underwent surgery. Millar, now 19, is genuinely remorseful and has not committed any offences since, his barrister Rob Kearney said.
Wallbank’s barrister said the defendant became involved as a ‘peacemaker.’
Wallbank, now 19, had been carrying a cosh because of a ‘threat’ he was subject to at the time, Mark Friend said.
Defence barrister Michael Johnson said Wazo had not come to the party armed and had tried to separate people fighting.
Millar, of Cemetery Road South, Swinton, was jailed after admitting grievous bodily harm and possessing a bladed article.
Wazo, 20, of Henderson Avenue, Swinton, was handed a nine-month jail term, suspended for two years and must do unpaid work. He admitted affray and possession of an offensive weapon.
Wallbank, of Wilson Road, Blackley, was jailed for nine months for affray and possessing an offensive weapon. He received a total of five years and eight months for other offences.
Conway, 19, of Holden Drive, Salford, was handed a two-year community order and told to do unpaid work after pleading guilty to affray.