A teenager who filmed his friend hurling a heavy sofa from the top floor of Westfield Stratford shopping centre has avoided a custodial sentence. The 15-year-old was sentenced at Stratford Youth Court today after admitting to criminal damage and recklessly causing a public nuisance.
Incident Details
The offence occurred on 1 March last year, when a video showing a blue sofa chair being thrown from a 50ft balcony went viral on social media. The caption read 'no way bro almost killed someone'. The 15kg chair narrowly missed shoppers on the ground floor before the pair fled the scene.
Judge Talwinder Buttar described it as 'an absolute miracle that no one was harmed', adding: 'It will be obvious to anyone that people escaped some form of personal injury.' She emphasised that the incident could have caused 'much higher harm'.
Sentence
The 15-year-old received an intensive referral order for the maximum period recommended by the Youth Offending Service. He must also attend victim awareness intervention and complete 13 hours of community reparations aimed at improving his interpersonal skills. A three-month doorstop curfew was imposed, which the judge noted 'basically means you miss summer'.
His family will pay a victim surcharge of £26 and costs of £400. The judge warned that failure to comply would result in a return to court and potential detention.
Background
The court heard that just three weeks before the offence, the boy had been issued an antisocial behaviour notice for throwing 'pebbles and stones' from the same balcony and was banned from entering Westfield. Prosecutor Matthew Groves stated that the boy admitted to regularly engaging in pranks, including throwing objects off bridges and trains, and at the time thought it was 'funny'.
Defence barrister Nimra Ashraf argued that the boy was 'peer pressured' into filming the incident by 'more dominant peers'. The boy later expressed remorse, telling officers: 'I now know someone could have died and I would never do that again.'
Psychiatric Reports
Psychiatric assessments indicated the boy had a 'low level of maturity, emotional dysregulation, and susceptibility to peer pressure', but has since developed 'more mature foresights'. However, a Youth Justice Service counsellor described his initial attitude as 'blasé', suggesting he saw it as 'a bit of fun'. The judge noted the boy now understands the seriousness and is 'stressed' about the consequences.
Co-defendant
The older teen, now 16, who threw the sofa, previously admitted to the same charges and was given an eight-month detention and training order. He is appealing the sentence, with a hearing expected at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 9 June.
The judge concluded: 'I expect you to make it up to your father... I sincerely hope I don't see you here again. I wish you the best of luck.'
