Joel Cantrell launched a “completely random and unprovoked” assault on his victim after a row over a vape
18:27, 10 Jan 2025Updated 18:33, 10 Jan 2025
Joel Cantrell(Image: Merseyside Police)
A teenage boy was left scarred for life after he was viciously stabbed at a beauty spot when an argument over a vape erupted during post-exam celebrations. Joel Cantrell subjected the youngster to a “completely random and unprovoked” assault with a knife before casually taking a train home and having a takeaway.
A judge today told the weapon-obsessed thug it was “extremely fortunate that his [the victim’s] injuries were not much more serious”. His victim meanwhile says that “what should have been one of the happiest days of his life” instead became “something he will carry with him for the rest of his life”, for all of the wrong reasons.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that a number of teenagers had gathered by the beach at Cubbins Green in Caldy, Wirral, on June 16 2023 in order to celebrate the end of their GCSE examinations. The ECHO reported at the time that hundreds of kids were present in the area on the Friday evening in question.
Sarah Griffin, prosecuting, described how a 17-year-old co-defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, approached another boy and asked to borrow his vape at around 7pm. But the teenager instead walked away with the e-cigarette and refused to hand it back before throwing it back and forth with another male.
He then attempted to kick the complainant in the stomach, although the boy was able to grab his foot and send him to the floor. But the assailant’s party then “viciously attacked” the youngster, grabbing him by his rucksack as he attempted to flee and dragging him to the ground.
The teen was punched and kicked by three attackers as he curled into a ball before Cantrell produced a knife and repeatedly stabbed him to the right arm and leg, in an incident which was captured in mobile phone footage. The victim’s friends used bandanas as makeshift tourniquets in order to stem his bleeding in the aftermath of the brutal assault.
He was rushed to Arrowe Park Hospital and was found to have suffered a series of lacerations to his elbow, thigh and calf, wounds which were closed by sutures. In a statement read to the court on his behalf, he said: “On what should have been one of the happiest days of my life – the last day of high school, a day meant for celebrating with friends – I was stabbed.
“This attack was completely random and unprovoked. I’ve never had issues with anyone and I’m not the kind of person to get into conflicts, so the sheer senselessness of it has left me shocked and deeply shaken. Since that day, my life has changed drastically. I now suffer from severe anxiety, especially when leaving the house or being in large crowds.
“Even things I used to enjoy are no longer the same. I had two concerts booked following the incident, but I couldn’t bring myself to attend them because of my fear and anxiety.
“The scars serve as a constant reminder of what happened. I felt so intimidated and unsafe after the incident that I left college. This attack has stolen more than just my sense of safety. It’s affected my education, my friendships, my confidence and my ability to enjoy life the way I used to.
“Every day I deal with the consequences of someone else’s actions, and it’s something I’ll likely carry with me for the rest of my life. This caused me to lose an entire year of education as I wasn’t able to start a new course right away.”
Police subsequently attended Cantrell’s home on Castle Road in Wallasey two days later on June 18 and arrested him in his bedroom. Officers seized the clothing he was seen wearing in the video clip, as well as a “large knife in a sheath, a red handled knife and a gold flick knife”.
PCs meanwhile discovered an empty box in the top drawer of his bedside table said to have previously contained the weapon used to assault the boy, which was discarded in a bin near to the scene. Under interview, Cantrell denied having been responsible for the stabbing, claiming the complainant had punched his friend after the latter had taken his vape before a “few people got involved”.
The now 19-year-old however stated that “he didn’t do anything” and that an unknown male with his face covered had been responsible for the knife wounds. This attacker allegedly dropped the blade and ran away while shouting at him to pick up the item, which he said he did before disposing of it.
Cantrell told detectives that he had then taken a train to Wallasey Grove Road Station, visited a takeaway and went home. He had no previous convictions at the time of the offence, but has subsequent matters for possession of drugs on his record.
Simran Garcha, defending, told the court: “Mr Cantrell was 17 at the time of the offending. It is vital to consider whether he had the necessary maturity to appreciate the consequences of his actions fully and the extent to which he was likely to have behaved impulsively.
“Mr Cantrell is assessed as being somebody who is immature and has demonstrated significant difficulties in thinking skills. He has misused drugs in his teenage years, and that is likely to have exacerbated his ADHD and slowed his maturity.
“He acknowledges wholeheartedly that the outcome could have been fatal and he was extremely foolish to carry a knife and wishes, through me, to apologise not only to [victim’s name] but to the court. He has limited previous convictions of a dissimilar nature.
“Eighteen months have elapsed with no violent offending, which demonstrates that there is some prospect of rehabilitation in this case. Mr Cantrell has a very fractured relationship with his mother and does not speak to her at all.
“He speaks to his father infrequently. The last time he saw his father was before the pandemic. He is an impressionable young person. It is clear that he has negative peer influences and other issues.”
Cantrell admitted wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Appearing in the dock wearing a grey Nike tracksuit and sporting short dark hair, he was sentenced to two years and 10 months in a young offenders’ institute and handed a 10-year restraining order.
His co-defendant pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was remitted back to the youth court for sentencing.
Sentencing, Recorder Mark Bradshaw said: “This was a serious assault. You took part in a totally unprovoked and vicious attack. It is extremely fortunate that his injuries were not much more serious. They could easily have been, given your actions.
“Whenever somebody brandishes a knife, there is a risk that much worse could happen. You could have been in a much worse position than you already are. It appears that you have an interest in knives.
“His life has changed dramatically due to what you did. It is not difficult for me to believe it when he says that he will carry this incident with him for the rest of his life. You had no previous convictions when this offence took place. It is 18 months since this offence, with no violent offending taking place in between.
“I take into account the fractured relationship with your mother. It seems, very sadly, that you have little support and have few positive influences in your life.”