Man jailed for threatening victim with firearm

A man has been jailed for threatening a man with a gun and viciously assaulting him in Crawley.

On 11 August, police were called to a report of a stabbing near The Grand Bay, Pelham Place. The victim, Manuelito Andre suffered serious injuries to his arm and was taken to hospital.

Andre claimed to officers that he had approached someone about money owed to him, who then chased him and stabbed him

However, it was found out following CCTV enquiries that Andre had attended the mans location and threatened the man before he was stabbed.

Andre approached a man in his 30s, threatened him with a firearm and attacked him. It was sustained attack lasting a number of minutes. He suffered minor injuries during the incident.

While Andre was in hospital, he was arrested and taken to custody on 14 August. He was charged and remanded into custody

He pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court on 12 September and was subsequently sentenced at Lewes on 25 October.

Andre, 25, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years, and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.

Following an investigation into Andre’s injuries, it became clear the victim did not possess a knife until they were able to grab it while being attacked, and it was deemed to be in self-defence.

CID Supervisor Oli Robinson said: “This was a complex investigation in which CCTV showed different events to what we were told.

“The CCTV evidence was key to Andre’s conviction. It showed how the victim was cornered into an area where he was able to grab an item to defend himself.

“Due to his behaviour, Andre is now behind bars and rightly serving his sentence.”