Drunken thug bitten on the hand during Leeds minimarket brawl

Michael Dean and Tyler Jai James O’Nions got into the scrap in Misha Food and Wine in Harehills on September 3, 2021, after trading verbal insults.

Dean then left but returned because he was with a female in the Foundry Approach shop and it “went from verbal to physical”, prosecutor Harry Crowson told Leeds Crown Court.

He said that O’Nions rushed towards Dean, with Dean throwing the first punch before they both swung at each other. The shopkeeper tried to intervene as they knocked items over.

O’Nions then bit Dean’s hand and they were eventually separated. They left the shop and squared up again outside before the police arrived.

While both defendants appeared in court, O’Nions’ case was adjourned for other matters to be resolved.

Dean, of Stanmore Place, Burley, admitted a public order offence of threatening behaviour. He has 17 convictions for 37 offences, including for violence in 2006. His last conviction was in 2012.

Mitigating for Dean, Michael Walsh said: “While he was not the aggressor, but he did have the opportunity to leave. He waited for matters to escalate and they did.” He said that Dean was due to start work as a delivery driver.

The judge, Recorder Mark McKone gave him a 12-month community order with a six-month alcohol treatment requirement.

He said: “I have no doubt drinking too much was behind this offence and it needs tackling. The reason you are not going to prison is because you have been out of trouble for so long.”