Leeds man 'stabbed and sliced' with scissors in dispute over sale of car

A MAN was "stabbed and sliced" with a pair of scissors then dragged from his home and driven to a cash machine in a dispute over a car.
Benjamin Turnbull and Walter Fleming.Benjamin Turnbull and Walter Fleming.
Benjamin Turnbull and Walter Fleming.

Benjamin Turnbull was locked up for eight-and-a-half years after a court heard he thrust a pair of scissors in to the victim's thigh before "dragging" the weapon through his leg.

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Walter Fleming was jailed for four-and-a-half years over his role in the robbery.

Benjamin Turnbull and Walter Fleming.Benjamin Turnbull and Walter Fleming.
Benjamin Turnbull and Walter Fleming.

Leeds Crown Court heard Turnbull, Fleming and another unknown man targeted the victim in his home on Holdforth Close, Horsforth, in December 2016.

A jury heard the incident happened after a row over the sale of a car.

Turnbull hit the man with a metal bar then attacked him with a pair of scissors.

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He then forced the victim to get into a car and was driven to a cash point at a Sainsbury's store on the Ring Road at Farnley.

Turnbull continued to use violence during the journey.

The victim was beaten repeatedly, had his head forced out of the window and was stabbed in the leg with the scissors.

Fleming ordered the man to hand over his bank card and pin number.

The victim managed to get out of the car and run to a house for help when they stopped outside the cash machine.

He was treated for his injuries in hospital.

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Turnbull, 28, of The Heights East, Armley, and Fleming, 48, of Tong Way, Farnley, denied any wrongdoing when they were arrested.

Both were found guilty of robbery after a trial.

Turnbull was also convicted of false imprisonment.

Sentencing the pair, Recorder Kama Melly, QC, said: "The complainant gave clear and compelling evidence of the assault that took place in his home.

"He formed the view that he was going to die that night.

"Because the offending took place in his home he has left his property and is essentially now homeless.

"He continues to feel scared to go outside."

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Recorder Melly added: "You, Turnbull, were the one who was the main protagonist in this.

"It was you alone who inflicted the violence."

Giles Grant, mitigating for Turnball, a father-of-two and a painter and decorator, said: "He is finding the absence of his family difficult and the time in prison very difficult indeed."

Paul Hodgkinson, mitigating, said Fleming was a heroin user.

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Mr Hodgkinson said Fleming "tends to fall asleep" and told the court that his client was "not with us mentally" during the trial.

He said that Fleming caused the victim no physical harm.

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