A man has been sentenced to three years and four months in jail after a ‘complete brutal onslaught’ at a Tesco forecourt in Salford.
In the incident, which occurred in May 2020, a motorist was knocked out cold during a random attack at the petrol station. According to the Manchester Evening News, just moments earlier, the victim had been loading his shopping into the boot of his car in an Aldi car park in Walkden, when Wesley Isbell subjected him to a volley of abuse for no apparent reason. When their paths crossed again shortly afterwards at the Tesco forecourt, the man confronted Isbell about the abuse.
Isbell then attacked the man, repeatedly punching him in the head and kneeing him. The victim was knocked unconscious for about 30 seconds and suffered fractures to facial bones.
“It was a complete brutal onslaught,” said the judge at Manchester Crown Court, adding that it was remarkable that the man made a full recovery.
Police collected CCTV footage from the petrol station and an officer identified Isbell from the video. The Manchester Evening News reported that he was not arrested until August the following year.
Nearly two years later, on March 23, Isbell was seen on camera being chased by two men. He was armed with a machete and the other two men were wielding weapons. He was attacked and received a serious eye injury, which blinded him in one eye.
The two men chasing him have never been identified, but Isbell’s DNA was discovered on a machete recovered by police.
The judge said that Isbell must serve half of a three year and nine month sentence in prison. The court heard that Isbell couldn’t recall what had happened in either incident, because he had been abusing drink and drugs. However, he did admit to section 20 wounding and threatening a person with a blade.
