Teen placed on good behaviour bond for City Cross brawl in which two people were injured

A private schoolboy disengaged from his education, turned to drugs and fell in with a “negative” crowd before becoming involved in a wild city melee.

A private schoolboy disengaged from his education and turned to illicit and prescription drugs before being drawn into a wild brawl which left a security guard with serious injuries, a court has heard.

On Friday, the 15-year-old appeared in the Youth Court where he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault.

He had already pleaded guilty in the Port Adelaide and Elizabeth Youth Courts to a range of other offences including theft, carrying prescription drugs and multiple counts of breaching bail.

Magistrate Kathryn Hodder read a summary of the actions of the teenager on April 25 this year at City Cross Arcade off Rundle Mall.

She said the youth had kicked one man and punched another to the back of the head during the fight which broke out after security guard Harshpal Sharma tried to stop a group of suspected thieves.

Mr Sharma was stabbed to the abdomen during the fight, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.

There is no allegation the 15-year-old was armed with a weapon or stabbed the security guard. A 14-year-old boy has been charged with stabbing the guard.

Harshpal Sharma, 35 in Royal Adelaide Hospital the security guard who was stabbed after confronting a gang of alleged teenage shoplifters at City Cross Arcade Picture: Evangeline Polymeneas

A victim impact statement from one of the two victims said he had lost sleep over the incident and called for the youths involved to be punished with the maximum penalty for their charges.

“This is not the first time they have done this, I fear it wouldn’t be the last,” he said.

The teenager’s lawyer told the court her client had fallen in with a negative peer group in late 2022 and had become swept up in petty crimes.

These included being sentenced to a family conference for his involvement in the theft of $550 from a car in Unley. The owner of the car saw the teen and two other youths near the car and tried to chase them down.

She suffered two stab wounds after one of the youths thrust a knife through the window of the car and she tried to drive away.

The scene at City Cross where a security guard was stabbed.

Since his arrest for the City Cross fight – after which he spent 12 days in youth detention before being released on home detention – the youth has re-engaged with school and sought counselling.

Ms Hodder said the youth’s actions during the attack were serious.

“It was unnecessary and violent, there was no need for you to intervene in such a violent way,” she said.

“They were just doing their job and, as you’ve heard from the victim impact statement, this is something they have to live with every day.”

Ms Hodder commended the youth for his work to turn his life around after the attack.

The youth was placed on a good behaviour bond for the next six months, during which he is required to undertake drug counselling for his cannabis use.

Originally published as Teen placed on good behaviour bond for City Cross brawl in which two people were injured