A judge told a court ‘we have had so much knife crime in the last few years and it has been horrendous’
The “horrendous” problem of knife crime among young men in Hull formed the sinister backdrop to an alarming incident in which a balaclava-wearing youth was caught with a large hunting knife. People who were found carrying knives often claimed that they were not going to use them – but violent confrontations could quickly “escalate” and lead to serious and even fatal injuries.
There was also a growing problem with crime linked to motorcycles and Ellis Start was involved in that type of worrying offending as well as the shocking incident in which he was carrying a large knife, Hull Crown Court heard. Start, 20, of Chestnut Avenue, off Queens Road, west Hull, admitted possessing a knife on July 4 and attempted robbery on May 12.
Amber Hobson, prosecuting, said that Start was on bail for the earlier attempted robbery when he was involved in a knife incident. A police officer spotted a group of youths all wearing balaclavas as a disguise. They were acting suspiciously and Start was stopped and searched. He was found with a large hunting knife in a sheath in his waistband. He was arrested but he made no comment during police interview.
In the earlier attempted robbery incident, a man arrived at the home of his grandparents in west Hull at about 2.15pm and he parked his KTM Duke motorcycle on the driveway. Shortly afterwards, he saw Start and another male outside the house and they were both wearing motorcycle helmets in an attempt to conceal their identity.
Start was sitting on the motorcycle while the other male waited on a second motorcycle nearby. The man approached them as they tried to push the motorcycle off the drive.
He intervened and there was a struggle with Start, who tried to wrestle it away from him. During the confrontation, the other male warned him: “If you don’t get off him, I’ll stab you. I have got a knife.”
The other male also tried to grapple with the man, who continued to resist. They failed to start up the motorcycle and they abandoned attempts to take the motorcycle and left on their own bike.
The motorcycle sustained scratches and scrapes to the handlebar, frame and rear panel. Start was later identified because of fingerprint evidence.
He was arrested a few days later. During police interview, he made no comment to questions. He had no previous convictions.
The man later said that the incident had affected his life and he kept thinking about what could have happened if it had escalated further. Someone had the “audacity” to approach his property and they would not be satisfied until they had got what they wanted.
He could not bring himself to ride the bike again and he was worried that there might be a further attempt at taking it. He had since sold the motorcycle and his enjoyment of it had been taken away.
Ayman Khokhar, mitigating, said that Start was not the one who made reference to a knife but he accepted that it was a joint enterprise. It was an unpleasant but short-lived incident and very little violence was used apart from “grappling” with the man.
“Nothing was, in fact, stolen,” said Mr Khokhar. Start started carrying a knife after his father was the victim of an unprovoked attack. “A family meeting was called and he has refrained from carrying a knife since,” added Mr Khokhar.
Start took the offences seriously and he arrived at court carrying a bag in the expectation that he might be locked up. “He is acutely aware that custody is a likely possibility,” said Mr Khokhar.
“If that what transpires, quite frankly he can have no complaints. This is a young man whose life is at a crossroads.”
Judge John Thackray KC said of the knife incident: “The courts see the damage caused by young men carrying knives. They often say they are not going to use them but things escalate.
“We have had so much knife crime in the last few years and it has been horrendous.” Motorcycle-linked crime was also a serious worry.
Start was given a two-year suspended custodial sentence, 200 hours’ unpaid work, a six-month 8pm to 7am curfew and 10 days’ rehabilitation.