Ryan McLean jailed for Portslade stabbing

A Brighton man who repeatedly stabbed a man in the head with a pair of scissors, before fleeing to Liverpool to try and evade capture, has been jailed.

Ryan McLean, 39, of no fixed address, was caught on CCTV chasing his victim into the convenience store Rishi News in South Street, Portslade, on February 27, before viciously assaulting him in a stock room.

He had previously been seen chasing his victim’s car at high speed through Portslade shortly before midday, then getting out and continuing the chase on foot.

Despite a shopworker’s attempt to stop McLean chasing the victim – a 29-year-old local man – into the stock room, he forced his way through and carried out the assault.

His victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries, while McLean fled the scene.

A manhunt was launched, including a £3,000 reward from Crimestoppers for information leading to his arrest and, on Friday, April 29, McLean was arrested in the Dingle area of Liverpool with the help of Merseyside Police.

On being arrested, McLean asked the arresting officers ‘is this about that thing down south?’. It was.

He was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, before pleading guilty to both offences.

At Lewes Crown Court on Friday (July 15), he was sentenced to 33 months in custody for the GBH and six months in custody for the possession of an offensive weapon, to run concurrently.

He also received an additional four-week jail sentence to run consecutively for breaching a suspended prison sentence for possession of a knife and drug driving.

Detective Inspector Neil Phillips said: “Ryan McLean is a violent offender with a significant criminal history, and we are pleased to have taken him off the streets where he can cause no more harm to the public.

“Despite his attempts to evade capture, we and our partners in Merseyside Police were able to track him down and bring him to justice.

“The age-old message that ‘you can run but you can’t hide’ still rings true, and this sentence should serve as a warning to anybody attempting to hide from the law that they will be found and justice will be served.”