Ex-military man avoids jail after stabbing during drunken brawl outside Shrewsbury pub
A man who stabbed a man in a drunken brawl outside a pub avoided an immediate prison sentence after a judge heard he had served his country in the armed forces.
Richard Davies, aged 52, of Greenfields Gardens, Shrewsbury, had pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding the man outside The Albion pub in Castle Foregate after using a racial slur on October 16, 2021.
Judge Anthony Lowe agonised for several minutes over whether to send Davies straight to prison before deciding on a suspended sentence at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Thursday(11).
"People who stab people should go to prison," said judge Lowe. "That should be the message we send out every time. It is what the public expects the court to do."
The court was told by prosecuting barrister Charles Crinion that the offence had been heading for trial in March until Davies accepted one of three charges he faced at the time.
The victim, a self-employed gardener, had been with a group celebrating a birthday at the Albion.
Mr Crinion said that "banter got a bit heated" in the pub but everything had calmed down. It involved the used of a four letter racial slur directed against the Traveller heritage of the victim.
He went outside for a cigarette but could not remember what happened except that he had "blood spurting out of him and onto the pavement".
He fainted and was taken to hospital in Stoke where he was told he had been stabbed and had "four puncture wounds."
The landlord of the pub told investigators that Davies had heard the phrase "******* *****" being shouted.
A one-minute, 20-second CCTV clip shown to the court showed Davies reversing while watching a group in front of him with his right hand in his pocket.
Bearded Davies, who was wearing a jacket and baseball cap was shown falling to the pavement during the fight which was recorded by CCTV at 11.13pm.
Mr Crinion said Davies had jabbed his right arm into the stomach area of his victim with an "unknown item." The court was told that Davies had admitted to owning a Swiss Army knife.
The court was told that the victim had been stabbed between three and five times in the abdomen and had been put on a ventilator at Stoke hospital.
He was then taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital when he had "self discharged" from care.
The judge heard that the victim had suffered depression, panic attacks and had nightmares every night.
He had also received counselling and was now unable to work and living on benefits and struggled to support five children.
He had suffered shakes and not been able to socialise since the attack.
"He did not expect to be stabbed due to his cultural heritage," he said in his victim statement.