A MAN has been jailed for taking part in a horrific burglary that left a five year old child "distressed and terrified."
He was also sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on Thursday along with three other men for his part in a mass fight at a teenager's birthday party at Whitefield's EastzEast restaurant.
Charlie Wallbank, 19 of Wilson Road, Manchester, was jailed for a total of four years and 11 months for aggravated burglary and five years and eight months for affray.
Judge John Potter said: "The child who witnessed this was clearly distressed, terrified."
He added: "For a five year old child, this almost beggars belief."
The court heard how Wallbank was part of a gang of three masked men who broke into a home on Goldfinch Drive, Bury on February 17 2020 using hammers.
The occupants took the child and hid in an upstairs bathroom before some of the men broke in and forced a terrified man to hand over £500 from the bedroom.
A pair of trainers worth £380 were also taken, while the gang caused an additional £500 worth of damage.
Prosecutor Andy Scott told the court how though the victims were unharmed physically, all of them particularly the child had suffered psychological harm.
Wallbank was later identified thanks to blood left at the scene and was arrested in December 2020.
Almost a year earlier, Wallbank had also taken part in a mass fight at the EastzEast restaurant along with Jack Conway, 19 of Holden Drive, Swinton, Asa Millar, 19 of Cemetery Road South, Swinton and Jacob Wazo, 20 of Henderson Avenue, Swinton.
The same court heard how the fight on March 30 2019 had started after a disagreement between two young women near the dancefloor which came to blows.
Millar then joined in, throwing a punch at one of the young women and trying to kick her on the floor, he then injured another young man with a kitchen knife.
Wazo, who had gone to the party "unarmed and intending to enjoy the social occasion" as his defence counsel said, then intervened, trying to pull Millar away from the fight before himself attacking the same young man with a cosh.
Wallbank then became involved and was drawn into a fight with Conway, who armed himself with a hammer in self defence.
The injured young man, who was not charged with an offence, collapsed outside the venue and had to be treated in hospital.
All four of the defendants pleaded guilty, with Wallbank also doing so for the burglary, which was taken into account as mitigation along with their youth.
Aside from Wallbank's sentence for both crimes, Millar was jailed for a total of three years for his involvement in the fight and for possession of a bladed article.
Wazo received a total suspended sentence of nine months with 200 hours of unpaid work and a 15 days of rehabilitation requirements, while Conway received two year community order with a requirement of 200 hours of unpaid work.
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