Teenager boasted 'head shot' in Leeds youth prison after stabbing fellow inmate to the head
Youngster given new sentence for vicious assault at YOI Wetherby.
A teenager repeatedly stabbed another to the head with a makeshift knife in the exercise yard at a youth detention centre, before boasting to others.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted GBH with intent following the bloody assault at YOI Wetherby.
He also admitted two counts of possessing an offensive weapon or bladed article.
Leeds Crown Court heard that he was already serving 56-month sentence for a serious gun charge.
Prosecutor Rachel Webster said on the morning of November 9, 2024, the defendant entered the exercise yard with three others.
Caught on camera, he then launched at the victim and began to aim blows towards his head with a weapon in his hand.
The pair were quickly separated by staff and he was found to have a sharpened piece of plastic with a cloth handle.
He was then searched and a handheld metal detector found he was concealing an item that he refused to hand over.
The teenager was then strip searched while being restrained and a piece of metal with a cloth handle was also found.
The victim had three puncture wounds to the back of his head. He refused to co-operate with the authorities over the incident.
The court heard that the perpetrator was heard shouting to other inmates about the stabbing and saying “headshot, headshot”, referring to the head wounds he inflicted.
Mitigating, Catherine Silverton said he had only been 16 at the time.
She said he himself had been attacked and added: “He had been the victim of an assault in the prison and felt the need to assert himself to avoid being the victim again.”
She argued that it was not necessarily pre-planned and that he carried the weapons to prevent himself being attacked again, although it was conceded he started the violence.
Ms Silverton said he had since made progress. She said: “He has demonstrated a willingness to be educated.
“He accepts full responsibility for his offending. There has been no repetition in almost 18 months since he committed the offences.”
She said despite being born in the UK, he is not a British citizen and has an indefinite leave to remain, which means he could be deported to a country he has never been to once his sentence expires.
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told the young defendant: “This is a serious case. You have carried weapons before.
“You were attacked yourself which may go some way to explain why you had weapons in prison.”
He gave him 24-month sentence, but it will concurrently to his existing sentence, meaning it will not add to the overall length of time he spends locked up.