Thug jailed after mixed-race family targeted by gang in Sheffield city center UK News

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Wayne Garrity, 33, of Derby Street, Heeley, Sheffield, was part of a larger gang who subjected the mixed-race family to abuse at Barker’s Pool, before attacking the man.

Brian Outhwaite, prosecuting, said at an earlier hearing that the victim, his partner and his two daughters were racially abused by the group before the man was beaten and he and his family be continued along Division Street.

At the final court hearing on March 17, recorder Anthony Hawks told Garrity: ‘You used violence during the incident by hitting the man who posed no threat to you. Knock him to the ground in a public place in front of his own children.

Recorder Hawks previously said the group had been drinking and Mr Outhwaite said one of the girls was repeatedly insulted.

As the father urged the gang not to insult his daughter, Garrity knocked him to the ground during the incident on June 13, 2020, according to Mr Outhwaite.

Mr Outhwaite said the family were followed and intimidated and as the gang continued to abuse them they sought refuge in the entrance of a shop.

Beer was thrown at one of the girls, according to Mr Outhwaite, and as the family tried to enter a Sainsbury’s store the door was locked and the family continued to be abused, including threats and racist insults, before the arrival of the police.

Recorder Hawks said: ‘Suffice it to say, it was a disgusting incident that brought shame to the city of Sheffield, which prides itself on being a diverse and tolerant community.

At the previous hearing, five other people from Sheffield admitted to engaging in threatening behaviour, including: David Hill, aged 28 at the time, from Skelton Grove; Luke Hodder, then 29, of Burnaby Street; Brandon Moxon, then 23, of Sicey Avenue; Iain Inkson, then 57, of Stradbroke Road; and Hayley Holdsworth, then 20, of Maltravers Crescent.

Recorder Hawks previously sentenced Hill, Hodder, Moxon and Inkson to three months in prison, suspended for 18 months with a 90-day abstinence and alcohol supervision program. He also sentenced Holdsworth to a 12-month community order with a requirement for rehabilitation.

Garrity pleaded guilty to fighting and another defendant, Steven Carroll, 29, of Heelis Street, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to engaging in threatening behaviour.

Chris Aspinall, defending, said Garrity viewed the affair with regret and remorse and that he had cut down on his drinking and hadn’t had any issues since the incident.

Recorder Hawks sentenced Garrity to 15 months in custody and he sentenced Carroll to three months in custody, suspended for 18 months with a 90-day alcohol abstinence supervision requirement.

A 17-year-old from Sheffield, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also admitted to a fight and was due to be sentenced at a separate hearing in Youth Court.