Man jailed after stabbing in Kettering town centre
A man was attacked in Silver Street last November
A 33-year-old man has been jailed for almost three years after walking up to an acquaintance in Kettering town centre and stabbing him once in the abdomen.
Shortly after midnight on November 8 last year, the town centre’s CCTV operators contacted Northamptonshire Police’s Force Control Room after spotting Sean Michael McCulloch with a knife tucked into his waistband.
When the police arrived at the scene, McCulloch ran off towards Carrington Street, where he was captured on CCTV throwing the knife onto the roof of a nearby building. Following a short foot chase, he was detained by an officer and arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place.
Other officers on scene found a 38-year-old man who confirmed that he had sustained a single stab wound. Fortunately, his injuries were not life-threatening, and he has continued to make a full recovery. McCulloch was further arrested in connection with this.
A review of the CCTV footage showed McCulloch had walked up to his victim in Silver Street, pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed him once. The pair were then seen shouting at each other before the victim approached the occupants of a parked car and asked for help.
McCulloch was subsequently charged with section 18 wounding with intent and possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place. Following an incident in police custody, he was also charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker.
Following his appearance at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on November 9, McCulloch, of Ash Grove, Desborough, was remanded in custody until December 21, when he appeared at Northampton Crown Court.
At this hearing McCulloch pleaded guilty to possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place and assault by beating of an emergency worker. However, he denied the offence of wounding with intent.
The case was adjourned until April 22, and on the opening day of his trial, McCulloch pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of Section 20 – wounding/inflict grievous bodily harm without intent, which the court accepted.
At the hearing, McCulloch was sentenced to a total of 31 months imprisonment and ordered to pay a surcharge of £228.
Lead investigator, Detective Constable Olivia Simmons, said: “As a Force, we continue to highlight the dangers of knives – they are exceptionally dangerous weapons, and the fact is, this incident could easily have had fatal consequences. Thankfully on this occasion, the victim is continuing with his recovery.
“I’m pleased with the sentence handed out to Sean McCulloch as it shows the seriousness with which his actions have been taken and I also hope the fact he is now behind bars demonstrates this and reassures the communities we serve.
“Tackling knife crime is a matter of priority for the Force and we will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to incidents of serious violence and relentlessly pursue the offenders to make our communities safer.”