Man high on SPICE hit woman in the face with a bottle of vodka because he thought she was a jedi

The incident was heard as Mark Sefton, 31, of Clarendon Road, Anfield, appeared by video-link from Walton prison at Sefton Magistrates Court on February 22.

Lynn Clark, prosecuting, said the woman was walking down Albert Road in the direction of Lord Street at 9.15am on November 7 when she noticed Sefton on the other side of the road shouting expletives while he crouched beside bushes next to the Farmfoods car-park. She said that as he saw her he shouted “Jedi Knight” at her. The woman responded by asking “Am I Jedi Knight?” and continued to walk towards Lord Street, but heard him repeatedly shout “Jedi Knight” and noticed that it was getting louder and louder.

“He caught up with her and she turned to face him,” Miss Clark said, “He appeared to be agitated, and aggressive, and manic in his actions. She felt that he might be under the influence of something.”

Miss Clark said the woman tried to calm him down but then when she asked him if he was OK, he replied, “No, I am not OK. You are a Jedi Knight.”

“The defendant then struck the woman with a three-quarter full bottle of Grey Goose vodka, striking her on the left cheek,” she said.

Miss Clark said the woman ran to Southport Police Station, while Sefton appeared to go off towards Lord Street. The whole incident lasted about five minutes, she said. The victim was left feeling shocked and in pain, with swelling to the left cheek and a headache.

Mr Sefton was found hiding in a garden on Manchester Road, the court heard. He was also very aggressive with police, kicking them as they tried to get him into the back of caged police van. In an interview the following day, he said he was on his second bottle of vodka, which he shared with others, after travelling to Birkdale to see a friend. He could not remember the incident, he said.

Solicitor Nick Archer said: “You will appreciate that these are somewhat unusual circumstances and the comments made prior to the assault, extremely odd.

“One of his friend’s had given him some spice to smoke, which had a very strange effect on him and his behaviour is best described as bizarre. The only explanation that the complainant can give as to the constant repetition of ‘Jedi Knight’ is that you will have seen from the photos that she has green hair. Whether that has offended him while he was in this strange state, we don’t know. He is at a loss to explain his behaviour.”

Mr Archer added: “He has never used spice before and he certainly will not be using it again given the strange effect it had on him.”

Sefton was already in custody where he is on remand for an unrelated matter. The magistrates jailed him for 12 weeks and ordered that he pay £250 in compensation and £115 in victim surcharge.

Chairman Robert Mawdsley said: “The custody threshold has been passed due to the aggravating features: the location of the offence, in Southport town centre; the time of the offence, when she had a reasonable expectation to go about her business in peace; the effect it had on the victim … and that you were also under the influence of drink and drugs.”