Time behind bars for instigators of "frightening, violent onslaught"

Sunday 08 September 2019

Two men from Madeira have been sentenced to a number of months in prison after they launched an attack on another man that did not stop until Guernsey Police arrived - throwing punches and kicks at him, and even going to hit him with a chair.

Pedro Silva, 18, will be in youth detention for four months, and his cousin, Alexandre Fernandes, in prison for six months because of the 'violent onslaught' on the man they came across in Santana's takeaway.

They both pleaded guilty to the assault charges they faced in the Magistrate's Court.

The fight started soon after they arrived at the takeaway. Tensions there were already high among other customers, as an argument had broken out over homophobic comments one party had made toward another. 

Silva and Fernandes, along with one of the chefs at the takeaway, Pedro Pignatelli, tried to intervene, and ended up cornering the man responsible for the comments and his friend against a wall.

The prosecution clarified there was no evidence the victim had made any homophobic comments. 

The man's friend - the complainant - then pushed Silva away from him, at which point both Silva and Fernandes both started to attack their victim, throwing repeated punches and kicks at him, while he just tried to defend himself. 

Others in the building tried to stop the fight, and eventually the two men's victim was lying on the floor passively and it looked as though things were going to stop. But then the attack started again, with more punches and kicks being directed at the man.

Things only came to a stop when police officers entered the takeaway, just before Fernandes could use the chair he had picked up as a weapon.

Mr Pignatelli also kicked out during the fight, and has since been charged with assault, but he is yet to be sentenced. 

The fight only stopped after police ran through the door. 

Having reviewed CCTV, Guernsey Police estimated that Fernandes struck the man between 30 and 40 times, and Silva struck him just over 20 times.

In interviews with police, both Silva and Fernandes said they were big advocates of equal rights and were upset by the comments their victim and his friend allegedly made. They also tried to underplay the seriousness of the assault, saying they had only punched him 'three or four' times. 

Both of them had previous good character, and were in Guernsey to earn money and support their families. Judge Graeme McKerrell, however, felt he had no choice but to impose a sentence of immediate custody. 

"Whatever caused this attack to kick off seems to be to be largely irrelevant," he said, "because the incident that followed was out of all propertion to what may have been said, and whatever initial physical interaction there had been.

"What followed was a prolonged, violent and frightening incident. It is clear he [the complainant] did not fight back, which only makes the prolonged nature of this assault more disturbing." 

Advocates Sam Steel and Phoebe Cobb, on behalf of Fernandes and Silva, asked Judge McKerrell to consider suspended sentences or community service orders, but in this case, he said that was not an option. 

Pictured top: The men were sentenced in the Magistrate's Court of Guernsey.