Mansfield man jailed for eight years after ‘gruesome’ attack with sword and baseball bat in Sutton following an argument over a car

Mark Malone of Heanor Walk Mansfield was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday after the ‘gruesome’ attack which left his victim without full use of one of his hands.

Malone, 26 paid his 31-year-old victim a visit at a flat in Westbourne Road, Sutton on Wednesday 14 May 2014.

He beat him about the head and body with a baseball bat, breaking his arm in the process and stabbed him in the abdomen with a suspected Samurai sword.

Malone was arrested a week later after being linked to the incident through DNA and CCTV. He was charged.

It is thought the 26-year-old and his victim were involved in a disagreement over a car. The verbal spat ended in bloodshed that May evening, when Malone decided to take the matter further.

Malone previously pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Following a trial last week, 23-year-old Joe Cull, of no fixed address, was found not guilty of any involvement in the incident.

A 26-year-old woman, who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, was also released without further action.

Temporary Detective Inspector Rich Monk said: “Officers arrived to find a gruesome scene. There was blood on the floor and on the walls of the kitchen and living room, suggestive of a vicious and sustained attack.

“There would have been little contest between the victim and a man armed with a baseball bat and a Samurai sword. The baseball bat was actually broken during the attack.

“The victim has been left incapacitated and, as such, will carry a reminder of that night for the rest of his life.

“What was especially challenging about this case was that the injured man did not wish to make a statement.

E”Let this be a clear message to others that, where necessary, we can and do take cases to court and secure prosecutions without victims’ cooperation.

“But let’s not forget that there were other victims in this case. Such a brutal attack in a small residential complex would no doubt have left those in the neighbouring flats frightened and unnerved.

“I hope the conviction of a very violent man gives them all some sense of security knowing he is now behind lock and key.”