A man who stabbed five strangers over several days was caught thanks to an extensive manhunt and a dramatic chase by a police dog.
Junior Dietlin attacked four of his victims in and around Mansfield town centre on the evenings of Saturday and Sunday 11 and 12 February 2023.
Each of the victims reported being stabbed in the arm in unprovoked attacks by a man riding a lime-green coloured electric scooter.
Another victim was also assaulted in a similar attack in Blyth Street, Mapperley, on the evening of 8 February.
As the victims recovered from their injuries, Nottighamshire Police began a major investigation to identify and arrest the then-unknown attacker.
A very large amount of CCTV footage was reviewed, and plain-clothed officers were deployed to Mansfield area on subsequent evenings in a bid to catch him.
Dietlin was spotted on the evening of 13 February as he rode his scooter through the town.
After being challenged by an officer in Devon Drive, he turned around and fled at speed.
His scooter, however, was no match for the speed of Police Dog Wolf, who quickly chased him down, latched onto his arm and dragged him to the ground.
Dietlin was arrested as other officers rushed to the scene.
The scooter he was riding and the clothes he was wearing closely matched the ones described by his victims. A locking style was found nearby. A separate kitchen style knife was recovered from a bag found at a local address where Dietlin had been staying.
Mobile phone date also proved that he had been in the area of each attack at around the time they were committed.
Dietlin, of Ransom Drive, Nottingham, denied involvement in the offences and claimed someone else had to have been responsible.
He also claimed to be travelling to the shops at the time of his arrest.
The victims were all treated for cuts to their arms.
Dietlin, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, continued to deny involvement in the attacks but was later found guilty of five counts of malicious wounding and four counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place.
Appearing at Leicester Crown Court on Friday (12 April) he was made the subject of an indefinite hospital order. In order to protect the public he can only be discharged from hospital with the agreement of the Secretary of State for Justice.
