Machete thug embroiled in sickening Leeds-street gang fight jailed for almost four years
A teenage thug who fought a pitched machete battle on a busy street in front of women and children has been locked up.
Jamal Kirton, who has been caught with the fearsome swords on two previous occasions, also admitted drug dealing.
Leeds Crown Court heard that violence erupted on Alexandra Road in the Burley area of the city on the evening of June 29, 2025.
Five males were seen wildly swiping the machetes at each other. Kirton, 19, was seen to pull his from the waistband of his trousers.
Witnesses were left terrified, including a woman who was pushing a child in a pram. A resident, who witnessed the sickening attacks from her home, was left scared to leave.
One of the males involved suffered a serious injury to his hand and was bleeding heavily. He was jailed for 28 months in July of last year for his part in the violence.
Kirton was later identified from CCTV footage and arrested months later on December 16 last year. He then refused to answer police questions during his interview.
However, he was already under investigation having been arrested on March 28 last year when he was spotted on an electric bike wearing a balaclava on Compton Road on Harehills.
Officers stopped him, before he tried to “backpedal” and get away, prosecutor Victoria Ball said.
He had to be restrained and police then found an 18-inch machete in his trousers.
A tobacco pouch found on him contained 51 wraps of crack cocaine worth £510, 13 wraps of heroin worth £130 and a bag of cannabis.
Appearing in court via video link from HMP Doncaster, he admitted two counts of dealing in Class A drugs, possession of a Class B drug, two counts of possession of a bladed article in public and affray.
Kirton, of Clayton Grange, West Park, has three previous convictions for five offences, including two previous for having a bladed article, including a machete.
Mitigating, Peter Byrne said at the time of his latest offences Kirton had been homeless after a family fall-out.
He said of the drugs offences: “He took what he thought was an easy option to earn some money. He was not using Class A drugs.”
He said there was no phone evidence and that it was “obvious” he had been sent out with a limited amount of drugs to sell.
He described him as a “classic runner”, selling drugs to addicts and was at the bottom of the supply chain.
For the street battle, he said there had been tension between two gangs that had “escalated” that day, so Kirton took the decision to arm himself.
However, he said there had been a “change” in Kirton after the birth of his baby in July of last year.
The judge, Recorder Jeremy Hill-Baker, described the machete fight as a “frightening piece of armed street disorder”.
He jailed Kirton for 47 months in total.