James William Rosser, aged 24 and of Lennox Street in Weymouth, and Louis Bromley Rafael Joseph De Leon, aged 25 and of Chickerell Road in Weymouth, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 31 August 2018 to be sentenced in relation to the incident in Hereford Road on Monday 5 February 2018.
Rosser was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting an offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent at a previous hearing and De Leon received a 15-month jail term after admitting an offence of unlawful wounding.
The victim, a man aged in his 20s, had known Rosser for a number of years and the pair had fallen out.
At around 10.35pm on the night of the offence the victim saw Rosser with De Leon in the One Stop store on Lynch Road.
He did not speak to Rosser in the store, but after leaving he noticed the two men following him. As he turned into Hereford Road they ran toward him, with Rosser standing in front of him while De Leon grabbed him from behind.
The victim said Rosser then stabbed him a number of times to the abdomen and chest area.
He then struck out at Rosser, who fell over, and the victim ran off. He subsequently required hospital treatment for a collapsed lung and two stab wounds to his abdomen.
Rosser was arrested at an address in Weymouth in the early hours of the following day and De Leon was arrested on Wednesday 14 February.
De Leon entered his plea at court on the basis that he assisted Rosser in the assault by holding onto the victim, but he did not know his co-defendant was in possession of a knife.
Detective Constable Andy Stitfall, of Weymouth CID, said: “This was a vicious attack with a knife on a defenceless victim who was being held from behind. He sustained nasty injuries, but it was fortunate they were not even worse.
“Dorset Police will not tolerate this kind of violent crime involving knives on our streets and we will make every effort to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”
Dorset Police is committed to reducing knife crime across Dorset. The Force works in conjunction with partners to identify those most at risk and those who present the greatest threat in terms of knife-related crime.
Dorset does not experience the same type of gang-related knife crime involving young people widely reported in other areas of the country. The average age of a victim of knife crime in Dorset was 33 years in 2016, and over 35 years in 2017. The majority of knife crimes in Dorset also involves a relationship between the victim and suspect – stranger incidents are still rare.
Dorset Police aims to understand the scale and impact that knife crime can have on local communities and individuals, including drug users and domestic abuse victims, and ensure that effective procedures are in place to protect them from harm.
Ongoing work to reduce knife crime includes targeting known habitual knife carriers and taking positive and robust action against those committing knife crime. The Force also takes part in regular national knife amnesties and officers and staff from the Safer Schools Teams work with schools to educate young people about the dangers of carrying knifes and the tragic consequences that using a knife can lead to.
If you are concerned that anyone is carrying a knife, please report it to the police online by visiting www.dorset.police.uk/do-it-online or call 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.
Other support, advice and reporting options are also available:
• KnifeFree provides advice and signposts support services, as well as activities to help young people turn away from knife crime. www.knifefree.co.uk
• Fearless is a service that allows you to pass on information about crime 100 per cent anonymously. This means you don’t have to give us any personal details. www.fearless.org
