A judge told the trio to ‘grow up’ after they clashed with another group on The Hayes
THREE brothers from Gelli have been spared a jail term after a drunken fight in Cardiff city centre.
Grant, David, and Daniel Davies, all of Avondale Road, Gelli, were walking down Wharton Street when tempers flared.
Prosecutor Paul Hewitt said it “turned nasty” between the brothers and a group of people walking in front of them, with the Davies brothers “attacking the group”.
Daniel Davies lunged towards the complainant, Alex Williams, before Mr Williams punched him. The two groups started fighting and the brawl spilled on to The Hayes and towards the Owain Glyndwr pub – all of which was captured on CCTV.
All three brothers appeared in Cardiff Crown Court before Judge Jenkins, on February 17, 2023, for sentence after being convicted of affray at an earlier hearing.
Hilary Roberts, defending Grant Davies, said this was “out of character for Grant”, stating: “In the 11 years he has known his girlfriend, she has never known him to be violent.”
At the time of his arrest, Grant Davies was under investigation for dealing drugs, the court heard. In 2020, he was found with 74.1g of the drug and thousands of pounds worth of cash at his home in Treherbert.
While Mr Hewitt said the police found £23,365 at his home, the defence claimed this was between £13,000 to £14,000.
After searching his home, police also found a knuckle duster in his car and evidence of drug dealing on his phone.
“That is an offence which came about through his personal use of cocaine. It was initially funded through a job, which he lost during Covid-19. He continued to take cocaine, and it was sadly funded this way,” Hilary Roberts said.
“His partner now speaks of him being clean. He is a hard-working man who is well thought of.”
Hilary Roberts added: “I invite the court to consider this. The delay has had a benefit for him. He has had it hanging over him and he has rectified his behaviour and has life.
“What he asks the court to consider in an extreme act of mercy, to recognise he has changed.”
David Davies was described by his lawyer, Tom Roberts, as “gentle and kind”, and “demonstrating real prospects”.
Having lived in supported accommodation, David Davies moved into his own flat on February 3 this year.
Tom Roberts said: “You will recall from the video footage he was not immediately involved. In became involved after his brother was punched. It was in that context he became violent.
“Both he and Grant Davies both acted as peace makers and not aggressors.”
James Evans, who defended Daniel Davies, said the event in Cardiff city centre was a “particular celebration”, and that Daniel Davies has “since stopped drinking”.
Despite being arrested in 2020, and charged with two counts of possession and one count of possession with intent to supply, Grant Davies was sentenced for these offences alongside the affray charge.
While passing down his judgement, Judge Jenkins criticised how long it had taken for both cases to be concluded.
“Whilst one can understand that those mobile phones had to be interrogated, it would not have taken nearly three years to do that,” Judge Jenkins said.
“Not only those drugs were found, but also a large sum of cash. Ordinarily people dealing class A drugs go immediately to prison.
“The affray was seen on CCTV in the centre of Cardiff. What more evidence could the police or the Crown Prosecution Service need?
“And yet despite this incident taking place on July 31, 2021, it wasn’t until February 22, 2022 that the defendants were able to submit a guilty plea.
“I find myself in a position that had these cases come to the court when they were meant to be, that you should be in custody.”
Judge Jenkins gave Grant Davies a two-year suspended sentence, and David and Daniel Davies were each handed an eight-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.
“Your life has moved on. It really is about time a 34, 31, and 28-year-old grew up and stopped behaving like this when drunk.”
