A group of thugs surrounded a 16-year-old boy and snatched his Louis Vuitton man bag outside the Lime Kiln pub on Concert Square
The Lime Kiln pub on Concert Square(Image: LIVERPOOL ECHO)
A teenager “made a very grave mistake” at Wetherspoons during his 19th birthday celebrations and nearly ended up in prison. Lucas Jennings and Liam Lowday formed part of a group of thugs who ganged up on a 16-year-old boy and violently snatched his Louis Vuitton man bag outside the Lime Kiln on Concert Square.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Friday, that the victim flagged down police and reported that he had been attacked outside the JD Wetherspoon pub in Liverpool city centre at around 4.45am on March 15 this year. He was said to have been surrounded by a group of six males, including the two defendants, beside the entrance during the incident.
Eve Salter, prosecuting, described how the boy was then punched in the face before his Louis Vuitton man bag was stolen from him, having been “crowded around and pushed into a corner”. CCTV footage, which was played to the court, then showed his attackers leaving the area on foot.
Jennings, of Ruthven Road in Wavertree, has four previous convictions for seven offences, most recently receiving a youth referral order for possession of a bladed article in a public place last year. The 19-year-old’s counsel Oliver Saddington said on his behalf: “Mr Jennings was not the individual who executed the blow to the complainant in this matter.
“The complainant appears to, happily, walk away. It is a robbery which, in my submission, could have been so much worse. Thankfully, it was not. One gets the impression that these are young men who made a very grave mistake.
“Mr Jennings is under no illusions how significant his behaviour was. What began as a night out on his 19th birthday led to him being in the dock of a crown court.
“He does not deny being drunk or taking drugs on that night. His taking of those substances have compounded his recollection of that night. No doubt, watching that video, he and his supporters will feel appalled by his behaviour. He wants to express his remorse, through me.
“Around the age of 16, his parents separated and he spent some time in care. His father died when he was 16 as a result of issues with alcoholism. Having experimented with drugs and alcohol, he found himself in poor company on that night. He knows that, if he is in trouble any more, the sentence will simply get longer and longer.”
Lowday, of South Drive in Wavertree, has five convictions for 14 offences, including an appearance for offering to supply class A and B drugs in 2021 and a 14-week sentence for possession of a bladed article in a public place in 2024. Peter White, appearing for the 23-year-old, told the court: “He does want to express his remorse.
“He tells me that he is motivated to try to make changes in life and mature. He has served two custodial sentences already in his life, one fairly significant and one fairly short. He does not want to waste his life in and out of custody.”
Jennings admitted robbery and possession of cocaine. He was handed an 18-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months with a 120-day alcohol monitoring abstinence requirement and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days.
Lowday pleaded guilty to the single count of robbery. He received 20 months behind bars suspended for 18 months with a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a 120-day alcohol monitoring abstinence requirement.
Sentencing, Judge Denis Watson KC said: “You were part of a group who were milling around outside, and so was this young male. The robbery involved the two of you, and others, effectively crowding around him outside the Lime Kiln and then punching him, or something of that nature.
“Between the two of you, you took his bag. It clearly was not a planned robbery, and it may not have lasted particularly long, but anybody who is intimidated and subjected to violence like that is bound to be affected by the violence and group attack.”
Seeing Jennings apparently smiling in the dock as he was spared an immediate sentence, the judge told him: “You are smiling. It is going to be difficult. Please do not prove me wrong. If you do, you will be back and the judge will say, there is a man who had a chance and he did not take it.”
Supporters in the public gallery were seen hugging and in tears as Lowday was allowed to walk free from court, with Judge Watson saying to him: “It remains to be seen whether, in your case, you will take the opportunity. Do not walk out of here thinking that you have got away with it. If that is your attitude, you probably will not get past the first month. You can prove the doubters, and there would be many, wrong. Do not let yourselves down.”