Nottingham – A knife, metal bar, and glass bottles were all brandished during a street fight that left a man fighting for his life.
Weapons were used, and punches were thrown when two groups of men clashed in Melrose Street, Sherwood.
The alcohol-fuelled violence erupted in the early hours of 25 July 2020 – the same day Covid restrictions preventing people from returning to pubs were lifted.
In the midst of their respective nights out, the groups became embroiled in an argument, which quickly turned physical and spilled out into the middle of the road.
Not just punches were thrown in the fight that followed, with a knife, metal bar, glass bottles, and belts also used as weapons – leaving several people injured as a result.
One man sustained slash wounds to his neck before collapsing on a nearby street corner, where attending officers found him and worked together to provide life-saving first aid.
Paramedics arrived soon after and took over, with the man being rushed to hospital, where he recovered from his injuries.
Two of the fight’s main aggressors were also injured, with Jonathan Carbon sustaining two stab wounds to his abdomen and Craig Wood suffering a serious head wound.
Carbon and Wood were tracked down soon afterwards by police, who managed to recover a knife, a metal bar, and parts of a designer belt from the street.
Further enquiries also resulted in three other people who had fled from the scene being identified and arrested.
That included Cieron Johnstone, who was found to have been involved when a forensic examination of the scene uncovered discarded clothing he’d been wearing that night.
Police eventually caught up with Johnstone, 34, Wood, 46, Carbon, 38, Brett Clarke, 37, and Lee Scarborough, 41, who were all charged with affray.
Having always denied any wrongdoing, this all changed on 8 October 2024, when the five switched their pleas to guilty on the day they were all due to stand trial for affray.
Johnstone also admitted to assaulting an emergency worker after spitting at a police officer, while Scarborough pleaded guilty to possessing Class A drugs.
They all returned to Nottingham Crown Court to be sentenced for their roles in the fight on 6 December.
Johnstone, of Heathfield Road, Basford, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years. He must also complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Wood, of Walnut Paddock, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years. He must also complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Carbon, of Edwards Lane, Sherwood, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years. He must also complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Clarke, of Hadbury Road, Sherwood, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years. He must also complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Scarborough, of Woodville Road, Sherwood, was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years. He must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Detective Constable Chris Taylor, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“As the judge rightly said during his summary, each of these men is extremely lucky nobody died in this incident, or they would have been facing very different charges and a long spell behind bars.
“While it was impossible to establish exactly who inflicted what injuries and who was carrying which weapon, all five of them played a role in this completely unnecessary disorder.
“They all let themselves down that morning, with the only people to emerge with any credit from this being the officers and paramedics who ultimately helped save a man’s life.”
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