Middlesbrough pair jailed after using Rambo knives to slash victim while he slept in bed

Two men have been jailed after using "Rambo knives" to slash a victim as he lay sleeping in bed.

Leo Sharkey, 18, and Rio Wanless, 20, both from Middlesbrough, slashed the man across his face, hands, arms, legs and back as he was asleep in South Bank on 7 October 2021.

The court heard the victim does not know why he was targeted.

In a separate incident the following day, Sharkey and Wanless attacked a 19-year-old man as he commuted to work in Grangetown, Middlesbrough.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Sharkey, who was 17 at the time of the incidents, and Wanless, who was 19, ran the man with a scooter in a bid to rob him.

They were arrested by police in the area on another inquiry, who found the blood of both victims on the attackers' clothes.

Both defendants were serving previous convictions.

Judge Christopher Smith told the Middlesbrough pair, who appeared at court via a video link from prison, that he considered them both to be dangerous and to pose a significant future risk of harm to the general public.

After pleading guilty to aggravated burglary, Sharkey was given an extended sentence of nine years, consecutive to his previous sentence.

Wanless was given an extended sentence of seven years and four months for aggravated burglary and 26 months for attempted robbery - consecutive to his previous sentence. He had pleaded guilty on both counts and will serve his prison terms in a youth offenders institution owing to his age.

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