Joseph Cullen (Image: South Wales Police)
Last Updated: 3 minutes ago
A knifeman who attacked his victim outside a primary school in Swansea has been jailed for 30 months after a judge warned him that sheer luck was the only thing standing between his sentence and life imprisonment for murder.
Joseph Cullen, 26, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after admitting unlawful wounding and possession of a knife.
His co-defendant Rebecca Stubbs, 28, of Edward Street, Carlisle – also known as Rebecca Nicholson – was handed a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation requirement after pleading guilty to assault by beating.
The attack
Cullen stabbed Jonathan Yeandle twice in the back with a large knife outside St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in the Brynmelyn area of Swansea on December 6 last year, the court heard.
The injured man ran along Llangyfelach Street towards Dyfatty lights but was chased by the knifeman. Both Cullen and Stubbs were later found and arrested. Stubbs made serious allegations against Mr Yeandle following her arrest.
The dispute
Prosecutor Ieuan Rees told the court that prior to the stabbing, Stubbs and Mr Yeandle had become involved in a street argument outside the school.
The confrontation reportedly stemmed from Mr Yeandle not following through on a commitment to retrieve stolen belongings for Stubbs. As the victim attempted to leave the scene, Cullen appeared and launched the attack.
The trial
The prosecution’s case was significantly weakened when Mr Yeandle declined to give evidence at trial. Both defendants had originally been charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, which they denied.
With the complainant refusing to attend, Cullen and Stubbs entered guilty pleas to lesser offences which were accepted by the prosecution.
Criminal records
Cullen has eight previous convictions spanning 66 offences. His record includes four counts of assault by beating as well as possession of an offensive weapon and a bladed article.
Stubbs has accumulated 14 previous convictions for 28 offences, among them 13 assaults described as being “mostly on emergency workers.”
Mitigation
Andrew Evans, representing Cullen, told the court his client had endured “appalling childhood experiences” that led him into drug misuse and offending. He said Cullen believed Mr Yeandle had “significantly wronged” Stubbs, someone he was close to, and that his response had been “wholly inappropriate.” The court heard Cullen had been prescribed medication for his addictions while held on remand.
Ryan Bowen, for Stubbs, said “it would be difficult to imagine childhood circumstances more troubling” than those experienced by his client, who began taking illicit substances at the age of nine. He told the court she had “surrounded herself with what can only be described as a negative peer group” during her time in Swansea and become involved “in the dark world of drug misuse.”
The barrister added that her stepfather had made the journey from Carlisle to support her and that Stubbs now had access to the kind of stable home environment she had never known growing up.
Sentencing
Judge Geraint Walters told Cullen the only thing separating him from a sentence for unlawful wounding and a life sentence for murder was “pure luck.”
Cullen received 30 months in prison, reduced by 10% for his guilty pleas. He will serve half the term behind bars before being released on licence to complete the remainder in the community.
The judge noted Stubbs had already spent seven months in prison on remand awaiting trial – effectively longer than any custodial term he could impose for the summary-only offence of assault by beating. She was given a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation requirement.
