Man spared jail for his part in violent brawl which saw person 'brutally stabbed' at Xscape car park in Milton Keynes

A man has been spared jail after taking part in a violent brawl in which multiple knives were brandished and a person was stabbed.

Emilio Karim (both corr) received a nine month prison sentence - suspended for 12 months - for one count of violent disorder after a barbaric encounter between two groups unravelled on August 3, 2019.

The 21-year-old, who was represented by defence counsel Laban Leake, was only 17 years old at the time of the incident and had a knife in his possession when he was arrested.

Patrick Duffy, prosecuting, said that assailant, who emigrated from Malawi at a young age with his mother and sister, took part in "some serious violence at the scene."

In August 2019, Karim and several others began a confrontation in Milton Keynes with another group and a chase ensued. The court heard that Karim's group were pursuing the other youths. A concerned passer-by had tried to distract the two groups by driving in between them with his car.

The conflict then continued to the car park of Xscape Milton Keynes - a popular activities, food and shopping centre. It was there that two knives were revealed and one person was brutally stabbed, the court was told.

Karim, of Canberra Place, Brooklands, Milton Keynes, Bucks., heard of his poor decision making from Judge Payne at Luton Crown Court.

He said: "You made worse what was already a pretty bad situation. That would have been horrific for the bystanders."

However, Judge Payne decided against immediate imprisonment, due to Karim's good behaviour since the incident four years ago.

He speculated: "I daresay you have grown up considerably since then."

In addition to the suspended sentence, Karim has been ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work within 12 months and a £300 payment to the court.