Man’s cheek sliced open by machete gang
A MACHETE gang who kidnapped a man and sliced open his cheek during a night of mayhem in Cheadle Hulme have been jailed.
One terrified victim was bundled into a van then gashed across the face and hairline and stabbed in the leg, leaving him with ‘life-changing’ injuries.
The thugs also terrorised others with a fake gun, machete and a Taser.
AMACHETE gang who kidnapped a man and sliced open his cheek during a night of mayhem in Stockport have been jailed.
One terrified victim was bundled into a van, then gashed across the face and hairline and stabbed in the leg, leaving him with ‘life-changing’ injuries, police said.
They stole his ring then threw him back out of the vehicle.
The thugs also terrorised others with a number of weapons, including a fake gun, a machete and a Taser over one night in Cheadle Hulme.
They robbed a group of teenagers of their phones and money at machete-point.
Miri Cull, Devante Gibson, Mark Bowyer and Cole Hamilton have been locked up for a combined total of more than 50 years for their part in the robberies.
Police say the gang first pulled up in their van on Swann Lane at about 11pm on Thursday, September 7, last year, when they saw their first victims – a group of teenagers – walking down the street.
Three masked men got out of the van and pressed machetes to the victims’ throats, demanding they handed over their phones and money.
After stealing their valuables they jumped back into the vehicle and headed down Ladybridge Road, where they clocked their next victim, a man who was walking home from work.
Three of the men, wielding a Taser, a fake gun and machete, burst out of the van and chased him into a nearby garden.
Detectives said the victim tried to run for his life, but fell over, meaning his attackers could close in on him.
While he was on the floor, one of the thugs pushed the fake gun to the back of his head, before bundling him into the van.
Once inside the vehicle, Cull took off his balaclava and proceeded to put the machete to the victim’s mouth, before pulling it along his cheek, creating a long gash.
The victim was also stabbed in the leg and along his hairline. He was left with life-changing injuries following the ‘abhorrent’ attack.
The gang stole a signet ring from the victim, then threw him out of the van, leaving him lying on the ground.
Cull, 19, of Alvington Grove, Hazel Grove, was sentenced to 16 years in prison at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court last Monday after pleading guilty to section 18 wounding, four counts of robbery, two counts of having an offensive weapon, four counts of having an imitation firearm with intent and kidnapping.
Bowyer, 28, of Bollin Avenue, Bowdon; Gibson, 20, of Bakewell Road, Stretford and Hamilton, 19, of Thirlmire Avenue, Partington, were sentenced to 12 years in prison at the same court on Friday.
Bowyer pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery, four counts of having an imitation firearm with intent, two counts of having an offensive weapon, one count of kidnapping, one count of dangerous driving and one count of having a prohibited weapon.
Gibson pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery, two counts of having an offensive weapon, four counts of having an imitation firearm with intent and kidnapping.
Hamilton pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery, two counts of having an offensive weapon, two counts of having an imitation firearm with intent and kidnapping.
DC Jane Milner, of Stockport CID, said: “This group of males were on a rampage around the Stockport area and these robberies were all unprovoked attacks on innocent members of the public going about their business.
“The attack on the male who was kidnapped was absolutely abhorrent and the vicious injuries he sustained are life changing.”