Teenager given life sentence for knife attacks in Bristol

A teenager who carried out two separate knife attacks including one in which he stabbed a man nine times in the chest on his doorstep has been given a life sentence with a minimum of 12 years imprisonment.

Chanz Maximen, of Sea Mills, carried out the attacks over a four-week period in October and November 2019, seemingly choosing his victims at random.

The 19-year-old denied six offences in total during his trial at Bristol Crown Court.

However, a jury found him guilty of five counts – attempted murder, GBH and three counts of possessing a bladed article – after hearing the blood of two of his victims were found on two separate items of clothing.

In the first attack, which happened on 30 October, Maximen knocked on the door of a 52-year-old man’s Clifton home before stabbing him multiple times in a frenzied attack. One of the stab injuries was just millimetres away from his heart.

A month later, on 20 November, he walked up behind a 39-year-old man sat on a bench on Whiteladies Road and stabbed him in the face with a cheese knife.

The following day, officers were called to attend a property in Clifton after a 22-year-old woman reported being followed home by a man carrying a knife, who tried to force his way in. He was disturbed by the victim’s housemate.

Responding to this call, officers sighted Maximen walking on Whiteladies Road and pursued him through Westfield Park and several residential gardens before detaining him by the railway track near Clifton Down station. He was found to be carrying two knives.

A search of his home was carried out while he was in custody and a number of items of clothing were seized. Among the items were a pair of trainers an officer recognised were similar to those worn by the offender during the first attack, following an internal circulation of CCTV footage.

A forensic examination of the shoes found blood of his first victim while the blood of his second victim was discovered on the jacket he was wearing on his arrest.

Images of his first victim’s address were also recovered from his mobile phone which the jury were told connected to a nearby phone mast at the time of the attack.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Kristina Windsor, said: “The determination and skill of all the officers and staff involved in this case – from the arresting officers, to those who searched Maximen’s house and to the investigation team and forensic experts – has greatly impressed me and they deserve credit in building a case which has resulted in these convictions.

“The very thought of being randomly attacked by a stranger with a knife in your own home or while sat on a public bench is terrifying and I’d like to praise the immense bravery and courage all the victims and witnesses have shown.

“I’d also like to reassure the public that attacks of this nature are extremely rare in Avon and Somerset. When they do take place we take them extremely seriously and put all the resources required into catching those responsible.”