Man sent to prison after ‘frightening’ midnight knife fight in Northampton town centre

A man has been sent to prison after engaging in a “frightening” midnight knife fight in Northampton town centre last year.

Sabir Ali, aged 21, of Bullsmoor Gardens, Enfield, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday, April 5 after pleading guilty to affray, two counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place and breaching a suspended sentence order.

The court heard that on January 21, 2022 at around 11.30pm, Ali received a phone call from his friend Akeem Mhlongo, aged 20, of St Edmunds Road, who said that he had been threatened with a knife and needed help.

The two men met shortly later in Wellingborough Road where they had a confrontation with two other men.

Ali, who was wearing a black balaclava, moved towards one of the men holding out a knife. That man, who wore a face mask, also pulled out a knife.

CCTV footage played to the court showed the confrontation moving to the middle of the road as the two men repeatedly swiped at each other with the blades. Members of the public took refuge in nearby shops.

Anita Clifford, prosecuting, said the group dispersed when the second men in the other group pulled out a machete.

Police arrived at the scene quickly afterwards and arrested the machete wielder and Mhlongo. The court heard that Mhlongo has since been sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Ali and the masked man escaped police that night. The masked man was never identified.

One month later, Ali was out on the evening of February 12, 2022 and he became upset when a woman would not leave with him in a taxi. As a result, he punched the woman in the face with a clenched fist, pulled out a knife and shouted, “What? What?” before making off in the taxi.

Police pursued the taxi and he was arrested for assault. A knife was found in his waistband, the court heard.

A police officer recognised Ali’s footwear and balaclava from the CCTV footage of the affray and he was charged for that offence as well.

Ali has one previous conviction of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, which he was sentenced to a 22 month suspended prison sentence in December 2021. This means that the defendant, in committing these recent offences, breached his suspended sentence order.

The court heard that concerns had been raised about discrepancies in Ali’s account of the offences.

Emma Fielding, in mitigation, said that Ali has impaired intellectual abilities which may explain the discrepancies rather than suggest that he was deliberately trying to mislead the authorities.

The defence barrister said that Ali has a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder after being “essentially tortured” at a facility in Somalia between the ages of 14 and 18. She believes that he is now vulnerable to exploitation in prison.

The court heard that Ali was recently forced to hold a phone for another inmate and, when he informed the governor, he was the victim of an assault that resulted in his nose being broken.

Ms Fielding said: “The sooner we can get him out of the prison environment, the better.”

His Honour Judge David Herbert KC, regarding the affray, said: “Despite the time, it was a busy public area and members of the public witnessed and were frightened by the threat of violence that took place.”

With regards to the possession of a blade in February, Judge Herbert added: “It was plain at that time you were someone who regularly carried a knife.”

He noted that Ali’s compliance with his suspended sentence order along with the attached two month curfew and rehabilitation requirement days had been “poor.”

The defendant was, consequently, sentenced to a total of 36 months in prison.