Thug stabbed Wetherby prison officers with sharpened toilet brush then asks judge: 'Why haven't you jailed me?'

Cheyenne Nelson, who has along list of convictions, attacked two guards with the sharpened toilet brush at Wetherby Young Offenders Institute, then kicked out at others while they tried to restrain him.

Appearing at Leeds Crown Court, he admitted three counts of causing actual bodily harm, assaulting an emergency worker and possession of an offensive weapon in a prison all relating to a single incident in November of last year.

Despite one officer describing it as the “scariest situation” she had seen in 22 years’ service, Judge Mushtaq Khokhar gave Nelson a year-long community order with a curfew requirement, which appeared to surprise the 18-year-old defendant.

Before leaving the court he said: “I do not understand why you haven’t sent me to prison. If I was in your shoes I would have sent me.”

Judge Khokhar pointed to Nelson’s progress since leaving prison after the teenager’s barrister, Kenneth Green, told the court that he had “made remarkable progress”.

Mr Green said Nelson had enrolled on a number of courses while in custody, had converted to Islam and regularly attended the mosque, and was no longer associated with the friends that had been involved with criminality.

Mr Green said: “He is a changed young man who will hopefully not re-offend in the future.”

Nelson, who now lives in Swansea, has 13 convictions for 24 offences, including robbery, affray, dwelling burglaries and drug dealing.

During his time at Wetherby YOI, he was separated from other inmates because of his troublesome behaviour.

On the morning of November 19 last year, he was escorted from the exercise yard by two guards, but refused to go into his cell, saying he needed to speak with someone and tried to walk away.

After being stopped by the officers, he then pulled out the 10cm-long sharpened brush from his waistband and lunged at the first guard, stabbing him in the top of his head.

He then attacked the second officer using the shank to stab at him.

He eventually dropped the weapon and a struggle ensued with Nelson continuing to make threats. He kicked another officer in the groin several times while a female officer was kicked in the knee, causing it to hyper extend – to bend back to an unnatural position.

He later refused to be interviewed by police.

Judge Khokhar told him: "You are already building up a criminal record for serious offending. You have been involved in a lot of criminality.

"You had already been isolated from other prisoners because of your behaviour.

“You kicked off. I saw the incident on the CCTV and it was frightening.

"The number of officers who had to be summoned it under control – you were trying to hurt them.

"Only you know the reason and you had adapted the toilet brush.

“But there had been a remarkable change in you since then.”