Brick-wielding 52-year-old avoids jail over attack on busy Sheffield road
He was spared jail
A man who hurled bricks at another man on a busy road in Sheffield has avoided jail.
Debesay Kbrab, of no fixed abode, was involved in an altercation with another man which led to him “arming himself with bricks,” Sheffield Crown Court heard.
Mr Christian Mills, prosecuting, told the court how the 52-year-old defendant had “no previous convictions” before the judge went on to explain the chain of events that were caught on CCTV.
Judge Megan Rhys described what took place in the afternoon of July 24, 2025, on Spital Hill in Sheffield.
She said: “It was a busy area at the time in terms of cars and also people, including children.
“You became involved with an altercation with another male - you armed yourself with bricks which you threw directly at the male.”
The court heard how the incident continued in the middle of the road, where Kbrab removed his top and then “armed” himself with “more bricks”.
A member of the public was able to restrain him but he became involved in further altercations with others in the middle of the road, “causing cars to swerve out of the way”.
Judge Rhys said: “This clearly caused serious alarm and distress to people present.”
This happened over a six minute period, which the judge described as a “prolonged incident”.
Police were called by a member of the public, and Debesay was charged with affray.
Following psychiatric reports from doctors, the judge recognised that they are of the view that he “suffers from a mental disorder” known as schizoaffective disorder of a depressive type.
She said: “The opinion of both doctors is that immediate custody would not be appropriate.
“It is of a nature and degree which makes it appropriate for you to be detained in hospital for medical treatment.”
Mr James Burley, defending, told the court that due to the defendant’s “mental wellbeing”, it “would not be appropriate” to send him into immediate custody.
Judge Rhys accepted his “complicated history” of mental illness and passed the sentence of a hospital order on Thursday, November 12.