Why it matters: The sentencing reflects what Suffolk Police describes as a sustained and orchestrated attack in a busy residential area that severely impacted the victim's physical and psychological wellbeing.
The details: Keon Graham, aged 25; Nolan Akuoko, aged 21; and Dylan Craft aged 21, all appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday, 12 November, where they were sentenced to 14 years, 10 years and 37 months' imprisonment respectively. Both Graham and Akuoko will also serve an additional five years on licence.
Graham, of Lake Avenue, Bury St Edmunds, had previously been found guilty following a trial in May of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon – a machete – in a public place.
Akuoko, of Psalters Lane, Rotherham, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, affray and breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order.
Both Graham and Akuoko had denied being concerned in the supply of cannabis and possession of criminal property – namely £12,000 – but were found guilty of these offences following a trial.
Craft, of Mill Lane, Felixstowe, had previously been found guilty of possession of criminal property. He had admitted breaching a suspended prison sentence and also a breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order.
What happened: The court heard that the attack occurred on the evening of Friday, 22 November 2024, when, just before 19:00, police were called to reports of a fight in a car park behind a block of flats in Woodbridge Road.
Two men were seen attacking another man, and the assailants were then seen to run off across the car park, dropping a quantity of cash as they fled.
The victim, a 33-year-old man, was stabbed seven times – in the abdomen, back and wrist – and was also slashed across the face. He was taken to hospital, where he had to undergo surgery and was then discharged on 24 November.
The victim told detectives that he knew Akuoko from prison and that earlier on the day of the attack, he had received a message from Akuoko asking him to go to The Drift off Woodbridge Road at 18:45 to do a favour for him.
When the victim arrived, he saw Akuoko with two other men he knew – Graham and Craft – exit a block of flats nearby. Two other men then arrived, who it is believed the offending group had intended to buy six kilos of cannabis from.
The mood suddenly changed, and Akuoko pulled a gun out of his bag and pointed it at the victim and in doing so, a quantity of cash fell out of his bag. The victim then had an altercation with Akuoko, which caused the gun to discharge – this was later found to be a blank round.
The victim then felt two blows to his back as the struggle continued around the side of the building, and the pair then fell to the floor, at which point Graham stabbed the victim in the stomach. The victim put his arm up to protect himself and sustained a significant injury to his wrist as a result.
Graham and Akuoko then ran off across the car park behind the flats, dropping more cash in the process. A machete sheath and a blank round bullet casing were later found by police during searches of the area, along with £12,430 in cash.
The machete and the gun were not recovered, and it later transpired they were disposed of in the River Orwell.
The investigation: Graham was quickly identified by detectives from CCTV as one of the people involved in the attack, and his fingerprint was found within a flat inside the building they had exited.
Further enquiries found this flat had been rented out by two men under a false name, but a phone number used to make the booking was linked to Graham on police systems.
Previous convictions: The court heard that Graham had been previously jailed for 30 months for violent disorder in Felixstowe in December 2020, where he had chased after another man while armed with a machete.
Akuoko and Craft had both been sentenced in May 2023 in connection with a robbery and kidnap in Woodbridge in 2021.
Akuoko had been sentenced to 30 months' detention in a Young Offender Institution, and Craft had received a 24-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Following this they had been made subject of Criminal Behaviour Orders prohibiting them from associating with each other.
What they're saying: Detective Constable Richard Pennie, of South CID, said: "This was an orchestrated and sustained attack in a busy residential area of Ipswich, which has severely impacted the physical and psychological wellbeing of the victim.
"I commend the resilience and bravery of the victim for seeing this through to its final and just conclusion. I am very grateful to members of the public who assisted this investigation in often small but pivotal ways.
"Suffolk should be a place where people can feel safe and this case shows that the police and the justice system take a strong stand against violence in our community. We will not tolerate this level of violence being brought onto our streets.
"All three defendants had previous convictions for serious offences, with Graham and Akuoko in particular displaying a propensity for violent attacks which has resulted in them both receiving lengthy prison sentences."
The bottom line: Three men with histories of violent crime are now behind bars for a combined 27 years following a brutal attack that police say demonstrates the justice system's commitment to tackling violence in Suffolk.
