Man accused of seriously wounding man in street fight denies text message planned attack
One of the men accused of seriously wounding a man with a machete in Ashmore Park denies text message proved he planned attack.
Three men were injured during the disorder in Wednesfield on June 23, 2022, with Jake Winters suffering life changing injuries after almost having his hand hacked off with a machete.
Myckel Betty, 21, denies wounding Mr Winters but has previously pleading guilty to wounding and possessing a machete in connection with the fight.
His co-defendant Joshua Francis, 23, denies wounding Mr Winters, another count of wounding and possessing a machete.
The two defendants have been separated in the dock of Wolverhampton by a perspex screen.
Betty, previously of Wednesfield and then Stoke-on-Trent, spent almost two days on the stand being questioned by his own lawyer, the prosecutor Miss Kiran Pourawal and Francis lawyer.
His evidence frequently prompted Francis to gesticulate in the dock and packed out the public gallery with his own family and associates of Francis.
Miss Pourawal read out a text message Betty had sent the hours before the attack, which said: "I will show him the sketch tomorrow".
She asked: "Does this mean you planned to get the weapons and show them him the next day."
Betty denied this, he said: "No it is about me being picked up the next day. The sketch means what is going to happen, I am trying to explain it.
"It is just the terminology that I use, it is like a situation. I get phone a call which says this or that, and that means about the sketch, explaining it."
The exchange prompted an intervention by Judge Neil Chawla, who asked Betty: "So 'the sketch' means 'situation'?" To which Betty replied '"yes".
The judge replied: "But you used the word 'show' twice?"
Betty told the jury: "It is hard to explain, but I did not mean it about the weapons."
The defence case for Betty concluded yesterday (Wednesday) and the defence case for Francis, previously of Wolverhampton but who moved to Dunstable before the incident, now expected to last at least two days before the jury will be asked to deliver a verdict.