Man stabbed and dragged through his Northampton flat by enraged '˜thief'

Leigh Evans, aged 31, attacked the man in his Delapre flat and said he would kill him because he believed the victim was spreading rumours that Evans had stolen a purse from an elderly neighbour.

On February 20, 2015, Evans barged past the man into his flat armed with small multi-tool and started shouting and swearing, saying: “You grassed me up, I’m going to kill you.”

Later described as “foaming at the mouth”, Evans struck the man on the head and kicked his legs from under him, at which point the attacker grabbed him by the jumper, pulling him towards the door and shouting, “I’m going to drag you out of the flat and kill you”.

During the attack the victim had managed to activate a fire alarm, causing Evans to flee but not before he had stabbed the man under his right shoulder blade.

Police were called, and a search of Evans’s flat turned up the blood-stained multi-tool. The attacker was soon arrested after he was spotted by a police officer climbing out of his window.

The victim’s wounds, including head and leg injuries, turned out to be relatively minor, but a sentencing hearing at Northampton Crown Court yesterday heard that the attack had caused lasting mental damage.

Andrew Howarth, for the Crown, said the man had lost three stone due to anxiety, had post-traumatic stress disorder and had been left “frightened beyond belief”. Evans’ barrister said her client was remorseful and hoped the man would recover.

However Judge Rupert Mayo jailed Evans, of Lyttleton Close, St James, for five years for wounding with intent.

He told Evans he had been given credit for pleading guilty, adding that he did not believe the defendant was a danger to the public in relation to any future crimes.

However Judge Mayo said the seriousness of the attack lay in the fact the victim was attacked in his own home and had been convinced the threats were genuine.

Judge Mayo said: “This was a brutal incident. As far as [the victim] was concerned, you were going to kill him. In his mind, this was an attempt to murder him.”