A THUG whipped a rival in the face with the cable from his ankle tag during a clash between two gangs inside a court.
The brawl saw terrified staff and members of the public at Reading Magistrates' Court desperately attempting to pull the two warring factions apart, a court heard.
Prosecutors told on Tuesday how Jordan Musa, 27, had removed the cable from his electronic monitoring tag and used it as a weapon during the battle on October 6 2021.
He also floored a rival with a kick before panicked staff urged the warring groups to leave.
Edmund Blackman, prosecuting Musa at Reading Crown Court, showed a judge video footage which captured the dramatic incident.
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Mr Blackman said: “It shows two groups of young people in the public area of the Magistrates' Court in the general concourse.
“Mr Musa, stands up, approaches the other group, advancing in an aggressive and confrontational way, they stand up in reaction.
“Mr Musa attacks the other group, whipping them with a mobile phone charger. Mr Musa runs forward and kicks another male, knocking him down.
“Members of the public and the court staff tried their best to separate the two groups and Mr Musa is encouraged to leave the building and not come back again.”
Musa, of Leytonstone, East London, later admitted affray and appeared before Judge Sarah Campbell for sentence.
He had been convicted by a jury at the same court on Monday of wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.
The court heard he had approached and stabbed a man who was “minding his own business” while sitting on the wall outside Musa’s house on April 9 last year, then of Reading, Berkshire.
Musa stabbed the victim twice, to the neck and leg, with a four-inch blade but did not cause serious injuries.
Shaun Esprit, defending Musa, said there was “a great deal of animosity” between his client and the five people he had fought with at the Magistrates' Court.
He said: “The group of five were instantly provoking him. They were making extremely disparaging, unpleasant moments at his sister with the clear intent of provoking him. His reaction was clearly disproportionate and unacceptable.
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“It makes little difference to say that the cable used is in-fact taken from his tag. He removed the cable and used it in a way which is disgraceful.”
Mr Esprit said Musa was a father of two young children and that he had been assigned a case worker to assist him with his mental health prior to being remanded in custody.
Judge Sarah Campbell, sentencing, told Musa she had watched the 10-minute footage of his Magistrates Court brawl.
He said: "It shows you swinging a lead with a matter on the end of it, hard towards one of the other people. One of the people present caused an injury to their cheek. This must have been a very difficult situation for the court staff.”
Judge Campbell said there was no known motive for the stabbing which Musa carried out, but said it could have been motivated by “revenge”.
The judge jailed Musa for six years and six months and told him he would serve two thirds of his sentence before being released, in accordance with the new provisions under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 which means defendants who commit wounding with intent serve longer in prison.
