Man pleads guilty to Fareham stabbing that left man fighting for his life as sentencing date set
Luke Foreman pleaded guilty on the day his trial was scheduled to begin.
The man accused of stabbing another man in the street, leaving him seriously injured, has pleaded guilty in court.
Yesterday (Wednesday, May 6), the trial of Luke Foreman was due to begin at Portsmouth Crown Court. The 21-year-old, of no fixed abode, had been charged with grievous bodily harm, as well as theft of alcohol.
The charges came after a 20-year-old man was stabbed in Hunts Pond Road, Park Gate, on the evening of November 15. Foreman’s victim was rushed to hospital with serious injuries, with police later saying that his condition had stabilised.
In a previous court appearance, it was said that Foreman had initially been charged with attempted murder, but this was subsequently downgraded to grievous bodily harm instead. At the time, he denied the allegations, but on the day his trial was meant to begin, changed his stance to a guilty plea.
District Commander Chief Inspector Marcus Kennedy previously said: “We understand that this incident will have caused significant concern in the community and we want to reassure you that we believe this to be an isolated incident, and that there is no wider threat to the public.
“An investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances and Hunts Pond Road remains closed whilst our officers are in the area carrying out enquiries. If you have any concerns, please speak to an officer.”
Foreman was also charged with theft of alcohol from Morrisons in Hunts Pond Road on the same day - to which he again pleaded guilty.
Portsmouth Crown Court described the case as being “cracked”, which means that a trial scheduled to go ahead collapses at the eleventh hour. This happens either when a defendant pleads guilty, or the prosecution has dropped charges - typically due to a lack of evidence.
The upside is that, either way, it resolves the charges faster than a trial would have done, which helps the courts clear its backlog of cases
Foreman will be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday, July 9. Until then, he will be remanded in custody.