Machete teen who hacked at two men has sentence appeal quashed

Nasar Ahmed was sent to custody for 11 years in April after he pleaded guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Ahmed, who was 19 at the time, has since attempted to have his sentenced shortened by appealing to a high court Judge - an application that was this week quashed in the Court of Appeal.

Presiding over the proceedings, Lord Justice Davis concluded that the former Recorder of Preston Judge Mark Brown had been correct and fair in his sentencing of Nelson man Ahmed.

He said: "In these circumstances, we are satisfied that for these two offences of wounding with intent the overall sentence of eleven years' detention in a young offender institution is neither wrong in principle nor manifestly excessive. Accordingly, the appeal must be dismissed."

During his sentencing in April, Preston Crown Court heard how Ahmed had left two men seriously injured in what was described as an act of 'classic gang violence'.

Tensions were already running high between Ahmed and his victim Hamza Yasser when they had a confrontation on the forecourt of a petrol station in Manchester Road, Nelson, at around 10.30pm on July 15.

That was over an incident last April in which Mr Yasser claimed Ahmed had written off his car.

Prosecuting, Francis McEntee said during the confrontation at the petrol station Ahmed pulled a baseball bat from his boot, which prompted Mr Yasser to call for “back up” from his friends Junaid Arif and Samir Choudhary.

Before they arrived Ahmed’s mother happened to be driving past, saw what was going on and went to intervene.

Mr McEntee said she became so upset she fainted and had to be taken to hospital.

Mr Yasser, Mr Arif and Mr Choudhry then drove to the Brunswick Business Park in Nelson to “chill out” and listen to music, the court heard.

Mr McEntee said they were there for around two hours when two cars came speeding onto the car park and blocked in their car.

Mr Arif, who was in the front passenger seat, said his window was smashed and Ahmed began “hacking at him” with a machete. He put his hands out and his legs up to protect himself but to no avail.

Mr Yasser said he remembers not being able to get out of the car and feeling pain from repeated blows with bats.

He was then dragged out of the car, where the attack continued, and as Mr Yasser lay on the floor defenceless, Mr Choudhary said he saw Ahmed slash him in the back with a machete.

Mr Arif’s ring finger on his left hand was severed and he had cuts on his left little finger, left elbow, and to the front of his legs.

Some of the cuts penetrated tendons, while the laceration to his knee had gone through the patella tendon. He was in surgery for 11 hours and in hospital for a total of two weeks.

Mr Yasser suffered a 15cm cut to the back as well as a laceration to the back of the head.

Ahmed, of Reedyford Road, Nelson, was charged with attempted murder but later pleaded guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Brendan O'Leary, who represented Ahmed during the trial, also appeared before the Court of Appeal on the defendant's behalf.

In his submissions, Mr O'Leary argued that the sentence imposed upon the appellant did not adequately take into account the mitigating features which were present in this case, as a result of which the sentence is manifestly excessive.

He submits that, although the sentence had to reflect the fact that there were two separate offences, there were no other aggravating features under the sentencing guidelines. Conversely, there were multiple features of mitigation, including the appellant's lack of previous convictions, his remorse, his previous good character, the steps taken to address his offending whilst in custody, namely the completion of a victim awareness course, his wish to become a mentor, the isolated nature of the incident, his age at the time of the offences, and his role as a carer for his mother.