A teenager who helped kidnap a 17-year-old boy before repeatedly stabbing a stranger who intervened to save him has been jailed for four years. Lewie Wilson was just 16 when he and two others bundled the teenager into a car in Harlow and held him against his will. During the ordeal, Wilson referred to the 17-year-old as his “hostage”. Later that day, the vehicle stopped and a man in his 30s realised what was happening and attempted to help the teenager. Wilson responded by attacking the man with a knife, repeatedly stabbing him in the arm, torso, chest and abdomen. The victim suffered such serious injuries that paramedics were forced to carry out life-saving treatment at the scene before he was taken to hospital and placed on life support. Wilson and his accomplices fled following the attack and remained out of the reach of police for several days. Detective Alana McCreath said: “It is thanks to the quick and vital work of our ambulance colleagues and hospital staff at PAH and Addenbrooke’s that this was not a murder trial.” Following a month-long trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, Wilson, now 18, was sentenced to four years’ detention for causing grievous bodily harm with intent, kidnapping, battery and possession of a bladed article. Two others, David Dutton and Riley Dedman, received suspended and community sentences for their involvement in the kidnapping and were each ordered to complete 70 hours of unpaid work. The man who intervened survived the attack following emergency treatment.
Originally published by UKNIP.
