A violent gang who carjacked a teenager at knifepoint and forced him to act as their getaway driver have been jailed for a total of 25 years.
Thugs Luke Jenkins, 22, David Hughes, 26, Matthew Sutton, 20, and Lee Ratcliffe, 27, took their 17-year-old victim on a terrifying hour-long journey after threatening him with a machete on Christmas Eve last year.
The group of men approached the vehicle at a bus depot in Walsall, West Mids., and bundled the frightened teenager’s friends out of the car before demanding to be taken to a drug deal.
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The young driver was forced to take the gang to their destination with the ten inch blade held to his face for the entire duration of the eight mile journey.
Once they had reached the address, in Wolverhampton, West Mids., the victim watched in horror as Jenkins slashed a man in the face with the knife leaving him bleeding in the street.
The gang then jumped back in the car and made the youngster take them back to Walsall, where police were waiting after being called by the victim’s friends.
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On Thursday the quartet, all from Walsall, were jailed for a total of 25 years at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Jenkins admitted kidnap and wounding and was sentenced to 10 years in prison while Sutton and Hughes were both handed five-and-a-half year terms.
Ratcliffe, who remained in the car during the attack, also admitted kidnap and was handed a four-year sentence.
Detective Constable Junior Stevens from West Midlands Police said after the case: “The young driver was put through a terrifying, hour-long ordeal – but he remained calm, didn’t panic and sat tight until police tracked down the car and freed him.
“His friends made a swift 999 call after the carjacking which allowed us to get patrol cars in the area on the lookout for the vehicle.
“And when a car matching its description was also phoned through following the wounding we were able to narrow down our search and quickly pick-up the offenders.
“Jenkins was the main aggressor and identified as the one who used the machete against his victim – he’s rightly been jailed for a very long time.”
