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Teenager who stabbed dad in front of his children locked up for nine years

A masked teenager cornered and stabbed a dad in front of his children after a chase through a Nottingham park.

The victim had been alerted that his son was being followed through Marmion Park, Saint Ann’s, by a group of youths who were trying to steal his electric bike.

He travelled by car to Beecham Avenue with other children to collect his son around 6.30pm on 27 October 2024.

Among a group of youths gathered at the scene was Dearnie Jones.

Jones, who was wearing a mask, pulled out a large knife before threatening and chasing several people.

He then targeted and chased the victim, aged in his 40s, around his car and across the road before cornering him close to a fence.

Jones, now aged 19, stabbed the victim in the stomach before fleeing from the scene.

The victim got back in his car and drove the children to safety at a supermarket car park in Carlton Road.

He required emergency surgery and was in a coma for a week after the incident.

Detectives identified Jones as a suspect and he was arrested following a manhunt involving a number of policing teams.

Jones, of Ruddington Lane, Nottingham, denied the offence but was convicted of wounding with intent and possession of a knife in a public place on June 6 2025 following a trial.

At Nottingham Crown Court on Monday (July 7) he was sentenced to a total of nine years in a young offenders’ institution.

Detective Constable Charlotte Webster, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “What happened that evening is yet another example of how the presence of a knife can instantly lead to an escalation of any incident.

“Despite the presence of a number of onlookers, including children, Jones brandished a knife, cornered the victim next to a fence and stabbed him.

“His actions inflicted serious injuries and the outcome could have been even more grave without the efforts of emergency responders and hospital staff.

“Jones could quite easily have been in court today to be sentenced for killing a man.”