Detention for youth

Press, 2 October 1979, Page 7

Detention for youth

A youth who wielded an axe to keep persons at bay during a confrontation between a friend and another person over a girl outside a house in Coleridge Street, Sydenham where a party was being held, was sentenced to six months periodic detention by Mr

justice Casey in the Supreme Court yesterday. Anthony David Le Gros, aged 18, a council worker, had been found guilty by a jury on charges that he was a party to assault on Peter Mark Maich with intent to

cause grievous bodily harm and of assaulting Richard Dixon Allen and John Gerarde Baker on May 6. Evidence was given at the trial that Le Gros had not actually struck anyone with the axe, but he kept other persons away while Thomas Barclay used a broom handle studded with nails to beat

up Peter Maich who suffered extensive injuries.

! Mr L. C. Dann, for Le Gros, said that the prisoner was only involved in the major offence as a party and he was shocked by the brutality of the assault committed by Thomas Barclay on the youth Maich.

1 j The probation officer des- . [cribed Le Gros as a quiet - youth who was helpful to r his parents. He had a good 1 background and until now , had not got into trouble. He ' was a willing worker and 5 hoped to become an apprens tice mechanic. His family ■ was standing behind him.

For his part Barclay, the principal offender, was jailed for nine months. It was unfortunate for Le Gros that he was present and helped during one of Barclay’s outbreaks of violence, Mr Dann said.

Having heard the evidence his Honour said he accepted tthat Le Gros’ part, compared with that of the principal offender, Barclay, was of a fairly minor nature but he had some difficulty in accepting that Le Gros did not really know what was going on so far as Barclay was concerned.

“You were obviously there intending to help him and

bottle up the other occupants of the house while your friend and the man he was confronting finished their argument,” his Honour said. “Well there are ways of 'doing that but wielding ai

lethal axe isn’t one of them and that is the point which gives me the most concern as to how to deal with you.” “You had better stay out of trouble in the future,” his Honour said.