Wolverhampton man cleared of attempted murder
A man from Wolverhampton has been cleared of attempted murder after violence flared outside Perton's Wrottesley Arms pub.
Liam Phipps was released from custody and walked free from Stafford Crown Court after the jury found him not guilty of attempting to kill window cleaner Shaun Bayliss. He was also cleared of an alternative charge of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Jurors heard that Mr Bayliss was stabbed five times with a knife that has never been recovered by police. One of the wounds punctured his lung and two stabs to the back fractured his shoulder blades.
He told the jury it was Phipps who had stabbed him but, after a six-day trial, it took the jurors less than two hours to reach a unanimous verdict of not guilty - at which Phipps broke down in tears.
Thanking the jury for their diligence throughout the trial, Judge Simon Tonking said: "If you think I am relieved by your verdict, you are right."
Phipps, aged 21, of High Street, Tettenhall, told the court he never touched a knife the night Mr Bayliss was stabbed.
But Phipps's knife-wielding cousin, Kamal Lodge, is due to be sentenced shortly for his part in the violence on the night of May 24.
Mr Jonathan Dunne, prosecuting, outlined from the very beginning that this case involved an "astronomical amount of alcohol" consumed by some involved in the violence, which started at the Pear and Partridge pub in Perton with Lodge punching Joey Padley.
Later that evening, Lodge turned up outside the Wrottesley Arms waving a knife around and punched Alex Bennett to the floor. After Mr Bayliss went over to defend his unconscious friend, he was stabbed.
Lodge, aged 23, from London, who is currently remanded in custody, has admitted charges of assaulting Mr Padley, possessing an offensive weapon and affray.
Phipps said he had gone along with Lodge to back up his cousin and the only weapon he picked up was a discarded exhaust pipe. His intention was to warn off the group.
After police put out an appeal in the press, Phipps handed himself in on June 2.
He told the jury he had not gone to the police before because he was scared.
