A man facing a lengthy jail term for a violent Penrith bottle attack has been remanded in custody at his own request after his court sentencing hearing was postponed for several weeks.
Anthony Scaife (34), was due to have been handed his punishment at Carlisle Crown Court on Monday.
Scaife, of Southend Road, Penrith, had previously admitted unlawfully and maliciously causing a man grievous bodily harm with intent to do so. He had struck his victim with a bottle in the street on a town housing estate, resulting in serious injury, during an incident on 20th April last year.
After he entered his guilty plea to that offence — and to possession of a class B controlled drug — the case had been adjourned for preparation of a probation service pre-sentence report. This, a judge directed, should address the risk posed by Scaife to the general public of him committing serious specified offences in the future.
Scaife had been granted bail, but when he returned to court, a different judge, His Honour Michael Fanning, heard that it had not yet been possible to prepare the background report. That document, he concluded, was needed before sentencing could take place.
Judge Fanning heard submissions from Scaife’s lawyer, Tariq Khawam, who said the defendant was asking the court to remand him in custody now.
“He has recently left his job,” said Mr Khawam, “with the hope of going to custody and starting his sentence today.”
Judge Fanning said of the punishment facing Scaife: “Inevitably it is a very lengthy prison sentence.” As a result, he agreed that Scaife should now be remanded in custody.
He is due to receive his sentence at the crown court on 15th March once the dangerousness assessment has been made by a probation officer.
