Men behind brutal Norwich knife attack sentenced to 25 years

Enock Kitopi, 23, and Tyrell Chester, 22, got off a moped to attack the victims - one 19 and one 18 -  in an alleyway near Silver Road.

Kitopi, 23, “chopped” a large bowie knife into the forehead of one, before stabbing him in the chest, Norwich Crown Court was told.

The younger victim was stabbed in his arm so severely that the bone was left protruding as he attempted to protect himself from being knifed in the throat by Chester during the attack in September 2022.

Chester and Kitopi attacked their victims in an alley off Silver Road in Norwich (Image: Google)

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Both victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were rushed to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital by the father of one, who is a trained paramedic. 

In a statement to the court, the older victim said he had been "unable to breathe" and thought "I was going to die".

The scar on his forehead was the first thing he saw in the morning and was an "inescapable reminder of how close I came to death”, he added. 

Enock Kitopi was jailed for eight years and six months as part of extended sentence (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

Chester, of Heathgate, and Kitopi, of Geoffrey Watling Way, had both originally denied attempted murder but later pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.

Kitopi also admitted intimidating a witness following another incident in January 2023 when he pulled a machete to threaten one of the victims at St John's Alley. 

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The court was told both attackers, who were aged 20 at the time, were members of a Norwich-based gang known as the 306. 

Tyrell Chester was jailed for even years and seven months with a further five years on licence (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

Judge Andrew Shaw said they had “planned to seek out the victims in order to get some form of revenge”.

Kitopi was jailed for eight years and six months and Chester for seven years and seven months with both being told they would then be released on licence for a further five years as part of an extended sentence. 

Oliver Haswell, mitigating for Chester, said his actions had been “impulsive” and “very much out of character".

Ian James, for Kitopi, said: “He has insight into what he has done and he has never sought to minimise it.”