Man who took knife to Page Hall brawl in Sheffield spared prison after drunkenly cutting off monitoring tag
It was a “moment of utter stupidity”
A man ordered to wear an electronic monitoring tag after a mass brawl in Page Hall landed himself back in court after cutting the device off.
Fabian Mizigar was sentenced in July after carrying a knife on the streets of Page Hall when a fight broke out in June 2025.
The 23-year-old was handed a nine month prison sentence suspended for 18 months at the time and was made the subject of an overnight curfew for two months.
He was fitted with an electronic tag to ensure he did not breach the terms of the curfew.
But in a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday (September 24), it was revealed that he cut the tag off in a drunken moment.
He was told that if he fails to comply with his curfew again he “will be going into custody”.
Prosecuting barrister Ella Fornsworth said that the incident took place on September 6, with the Probation Service having already been alerted to two previous breaches in August.
Ms Fornsworth said that a new tag was fitted the day after it was removed and there had been no further breaches recorded since.
Mitzigar’s representative, Rebecca Tanner, described the incident as a “moment of utter stupidity”, adding that he “can’t explain [his actions] other than at the time he was intoxicated and he is not a regular drinker”.
Ms Tanner said that at the time Mitzigar, of Hinde Street, Page Hall - was “worried” for his grandfather who had returned to Slovakia for medical treatment.
The court was told that Mitzigar is the primary carer for his grandfather, with Ms Tanner adding that one of the previous breaches of the curfew was due to him having to take his grandfather to hospital.
She explained that the second breach was a result of a police incident on his street, where he was stood on his doorstep sharing details with police officers.
Mitzigar had also been sentenced to unpaid work, which Ms Tanner said he “enjoyed” and had been complying with.
She argued that it may not be necessary to activate his prison sentence due to these factors, adding: “He is embarrassed about what he has done - he feels incredibly stupid and he appreciates he has put himself in a vulnerable situation today.”
Sparing him from jail again, Judge Megan Rhys said: “You were very lucky on July 10 when you were made subject to the suspended order that was imposed for a serious offence,” Judge Megan Rhys said when passing sentence.”
The judge said that when he was originally sentenced, Mitzigar “would have been told” that if he breached the order he would likely be facing prison time.
“You know [...] that the court is required to activate the custodial sentence unless it would be unjust to do so,” she continued.
“Before I came into court I was of the view that this sentence would be activated in full.
“Having heard that you are complying with the other order and having heard a little more about the circumstances in which the tag was removed and the previous violations I am just persuaded - but I make it clear, only just persuaded - that it would be unjust to activate the sentence today.”
She extended the curfew for a further six weeks, but warned: “If you come back before this court again in breach of this order then rest assured you will be going into custody because the court will not tolerate any further breach.
“Do you understand?”