Two men left a machete protruding from the neck of their victim, a court heard.
On 27 June last year (2022), the victim – who is in his 40s – went with an associate who had arranged to collect drugs from 24-year-old Callum Bell in an alleyway off Welland Road, Dogsthorpe.
They parked in a car park next to Spar convenience store, opposite the alleyway, at about 10.20pm and made their way over to the pick-up location where they met Bell and another man – 19-year-old Samual Estifanos.
While in the alleyway, Bell pulled a large knife from his trousers and lunged towards the victim, striking him with the weapon.
The victim ran towards Welland Road but tripped on a kerb and fell to the ground, where Estifanos stood over him holding a large machete with a serrated edge.
Estifanos stabbed him several times before leaving the weapon protruding from the side of the victim’s neck and making off.
Taxi finds victim
A passing taxi stopped and called an ambulance who took the victim to Peterborough City Hospital where he went straight into emergency surgery to remove the knife from his neck and re-attach his severed ear.
House-to-house enquiries uncovered CCTV footage which captured Estifanos stabbing the man in the road.
Bell and Estifanos were identified by police and arrested in the following days, where machetes were found in their possession.
The pair were both charged with attempted murder which they denied.
Bell pleaded guilty to a lesser offence of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) which was accepted in court, alongside a charge of being in possession of an offensive weapon in a public place – namely a machete, while Estifanos went to trial in February.
After deliberations, the charge of attempted murder was dropped and replaced with assault with intent to cause GBH, which Estifanos pleaded guilty to, alongside charges of possession with intent to supply cannabis, possession of a knife in a public place, and possession of a weapon in a public place – namely a machete.
They appeared at Huntingdon Law Courts yesterday (Tuesday), where Estifanos, of Welland Road, Dogsthorpe, was sentenced to six years in prison, while Bell, of no fixed address, received four-and-a-half years.
Horrific attack
Detective Constable Steph Dunlop, who investigated, said: “This was a horrific attack which could so easily have ended up as a murder investigation.
“It was truly shocking for all those involved, not only for the victim, his friends and family, but for the members of the public who went to his aid, the paramedics and police officers who were first on scene.
“I would urge anyone who has information about someone who carries a weapon to do the right thing and report it to us.”
Anyone with information or concerns about someone who carries a weapon is urged to report to police online via the dedicated weapon information page.
