Teenager who stabbed man and punched woman in face in random Pudsey attack given 10-year sentence

McKenzie Dagless committed "significant injuries on members of the public for no explicable reason" in two separate incidents, Leeds Crown Court heard on Tuesday morning.

Dagless confronted a random couple in Swinnow after they left their relatives' house on August 22, 2021.

As the victims walked hand in hand down a path, they came across two men - one of which was Dagless.

Dagless shouted, "Oh you have got a girlfriend, have you?" at the male victim, prosecutor Brahir Ahmed told the court.

The man ignored Dagless and started to walk away.

However, Dagless followed the couple and shouted, "Don't ignore me, come here when I am talking to you".

He started to throw punches at the victims and the woman was pushed into a hedge and punched in the face, Mr Ahmed said.

Dagless then turned his attention to the man, who asked if he was going to stab him after earlier spotting his hand in his man bag.

Dagless answered 'Yes' and pulled out a four-inch blade, prompting the victim to run.

He was stabbed in the thigh as he tried to escape, the court heard.

The man passed out but Dagless was later identified by video identification procedures.

The male victim suffered a stab wound to his thigh which required stitches and his girlfriend suffered a bruise to her chin.

Dagless was arrested the next day and gave no comment during interview.

He went on to carry out a second attack on different victims on October 9 last year.

A couple had been in the Halfway House pub on Leeds and Bradford road when the woman went outside the pub for a cigarette.

Dagless swore as he shouted, "What is she doing here?".

Later that evening, the couple emerged from the pub and walked past Stanningley Park, the court heard.

They were followed by Dagless and an associate who were "taunting the pair", according to the prosecutor.

"As the couple approached Summerfield Road, the defendant punched [the female victim] to the face", Mr Ahmed explained.

"It surprised and stunned her.

"He punched her again to the face."

She received a significant eye socket fracture and had to undergo surgery to fix the fracture, with a plate being fitted.

The woman was left with permanent disfigurement, while the man suffered grazing injuries.

Both of the victims positively identified Dagless during video procedures.

He was arrested and interviewed on October 12 and again answered no comment to all questions.

Dagless, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, wounding with intent, assault by beating and actual bodily harm offences during an earlier hearing.

The female victim in his second attack said she "dreads the day he walks the street again".

In a moving victim impact statement read to the court, she said she had suffered multiple panic attacks, was deeply depressed and scared of her own shadow.

The victim said the shape of her face had been changed and she had lost all confidence.

In mitigation, Catherine Duffy read out a letter to the court by Dagless.

One passage reads: "I'm sincerely sorry to you and the victims for my disgraceful behaviour.

"I had a lot of time to reflect on my actions and behaviour. What I did was uncalled for.

"I know for sure when I get released I will be a changed man.

"I was on a road of self0destruction and a complete loss of my family and friends.

"I am asking for you not to take the most important years away from me."

Ms Duffy said Dagless had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHA) and "autistic traits".

When he was 16 years old, he was assessed as having the communication levels of a boy between 10 and 13 years old.

Dagless grew up amid a "difficult backdrop", according to Ms Duffy, and had lacked a "strong positive role model".

He had "issues with cannabis" which he was "determined to address while in custody", the court was told.

A probation officer's report described it as "rare to come across someone so young who presents such a high risk of reoffending".

Dagless was described as a young man who "lacked any respect for other people" by Judge Tom Bayliss QC.

He has 13 previous offences on record including for assaulting emergency service workers after he "spat into one of their mouths", the court heard.

Sentencing him, the judge said: "Perhaps a realisation for where offending is leading your life will lead to maturity.

"You were 17 years old when you committed [the first offences].

"You and another youth confronted the victims in the early evening. They were strangers to you. They did nothing.

"When [the male victim's] girlfriend tried to stop you attacking him, you punched her in the face.

"You stabbed him in the thigh. He was taken to hospital and the knife penetrated muscle in his leg."

Judge Bayliss QC told the court that the wounding offence alone would have attracted a sentence at the top of the range.

However, this was aggravated by Dagless' previous convictions.

Regarding the second attack, the judge added: "In August you were in the company of another man.

"You punched [the female victim] repeatedly to the face. She has been permanently disfigured. She has lost all confidence."

Dagless - who watched the proceedings via a prison video link - will be detained in a young offender institute for six years, with four years on extended licence