Crime, News

Knife-wielding robbers jailed after slashing teen victims in late-night attack

Two men have been sent prison from carrying out brutal Nottingham robberies, including one where two 14 year-old-boys were slashed.

Ringleader William McLatchie and accomplice James Jordan threatened a group of four teenagers with knives at 1:30am on April 21 2019 in Colwick.

All the boys – aged either 14 or 15 at the time – were then forced to hand over their phones to the armed duo. Once having the phones, McLatchie – then 25 – decided to still slash two of the teens.

They were left with knife wounds to their face and neck areas, with one of the victims requiring ten stitches for his injuries.

Earlier that night, McLatchie had committed another violent robbery in Calverton.

McLatchie attacked a man in his fifties from behind and assaulted him, leaving the victim with a broken nose before stealing his bank card which he used to buy items from a shop.

Soon after McLatchie and Jordan were both arrested for their roles in the robberies, both denying the charges put to them.

After taking his case to trial, McLatchie was found guilty of committing five robberies, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and fraud by false representation.

Jordan, now 24, was four days into his own trial when he made the decision to change his plea and admitted to carrying out four robberies, as well as one count of fraud by false representation.

Both men appeared before Nottingham Crown Court to be sentenced for their crimes last Thursday (April 24).

McLatchie, of Stinford Close, Bestwood Park, was jailed for nine years.

Jordan, now of Exeter Road, Okehampton, Devon, received a prison sentence of three years and seven months.

Detective Sergeant Elina Falcon, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “It’s impossible to overstate just how serious the offences McLatchie and to a lesser extent Jordan committed against their victims.

“Both of them subjected a group of teenage boys to a horrible ordeal after running at them while armed with knives and ordering them to hand over their phones.

“Despite each of them doing this and with the spoils of their robbery already in his possession, that seemingly wasn’t enough for McLatchie who instead decided to slash at his victims with his knife.

“This cowardly act left two of the boys with gashes to their face and neck areas that required stitches, on top of the emotional ordeal each of them had already suffered at the hands of the two robbers.

“That attack came just a few hours after McLatchie – this time acting on his own – robbed someone else of their bank card, while breaking his victim’s nose in the process.

“It can’t be stressed enough how serious a crime robbery is, due to the life-changing impact these offences can have on victims, whether from a physical or an emotional standpoint.

“While a long time has passed since their ordeals, we hope the prison sentences now handed out to McLatchie and Jordan will provide some small degree of comfort to the people they targeted.”