Leon Appleton

A thug who left a blameless teen who'd never had a fight in his life with a detached retina in a "gratuitous" city centre attack has avoided prison. The victim, 18 at the time, went out drinking with his cousin in Sunderland city centre on July 1 2023.

While talking to two young women, he noticed two men staring at him, one of whom was Leon Appleton. The victim went to another bar and noticed the same two men and Appleton became aggressive and asked him to go outside. Nicoleta Alistari, prosecuting, said: "The complainant had never been in a fight. He didn't sense danger because he had done nothing wrong."

He followed Appleton outside and Appleton kept asking if he wanted a fight and he repeatedly said he didn't. However Appleton then started attacking him, punching him

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