Pa Salieu jailed for 33 months for “violent disorder” and weapon charge

Award-winning artist Pa Salieu has been sentenced today to two years and nine months in prison on charges of violent disorder and possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon, relating to his role in a mass brawl that took place outside a bar in Coventry in 2018.

The fight was said to have broken out after Salieu’s friend Fidel Glasgow - grandson of The Specials singer Neville Staple - was stabbed to death aged 21.

Glasgow’s murder is still being investigated, with West Midlands Police urging anyone with information to come forward.

Pa Salieu - full name Pa Salieu Gaye - was caught on CCTV using a tree branch to hit a man in a group attack that caused the victim to spend 10 days in hospital.

He was found guilty of possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon and told the court that he had smashed the bottle to defend himself.

The court heard, according to Coventry Live, that he was an "active and persistent participant" in the attack and "used significant physical violence".

The prosecutor says that he struck the man with a branch on several occasions, using "the weapon in the context of having used a bottle previously."

Eight other men have been convicted, reports the Coventry Telegraph.

Pa Salieu has two previous convictions for two offences, which include a suspended sentence for possessing a knife in 2015.

He was sentenced today, December 2, at Warwick Crown Court.

Judge Peter Cook told Salieu: "Anyone harbouring the view that you are a young man being hard done by should pause to reflect that despite having a conviction for carrying a knife three years earlier - which resulted in a suspended sentence - in the course of these events you used two bottles and a stick.

He added: "It was your intention to turn a bottle into a jagged weapon.

"What happened to Fidel could have happened to anyone in that melee."

[Via: Sky News]

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter