Two men have been given custodial sentences for beating a forecourt cashier and stabbing him five times, in an attack so severe it left the victim wanting to leave the country.
On January 8 this year at approximately 1am Daniel Davis, 26, approached the night hatch at a BP forecourt in Darlington, County Durham, and asked for the cashier to get him a meal deal. Shortly after he was joined at the shop window by John Wilson, 38. While neither man knew each other, both were described as heavily intoxicated at the time.
Davis accused the cashier of getting him the wrong sandwich and began to grow violent, at which point Wilson joined in. The forecourt door had mistakenly been left open and both men entered the shop. Davis drew a knife from his pocket, and the two men wrestled a metal pole from the victim, who was attempting to defend himself.
Teeside Live reports that Wilson and Davis then struck the cashier with the pole and repeatedly hit him, before stabbing him five times. The victim’s liver was punctured and he sustained a significant injury to his left arm, requiring surgery. The publication reports the staff member was left scarred, and the court heard he is likely to move back to his native Sri Lanka.
Davis had four previous convictions for 10 offences and was serving a community service order for drink driving at the time, while Wilson was on bail and had 34 convictions for 78 offences, some of them violent.
Both men pleaded guilty to robbery, and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Davis was given a sentence of eight years and three months in prison, while Wilson was sentenced nine years. Both men were also given three years on extended licence, meaning they will be subject to further supervision once released from prison.
