A man has been found guilty of stabbing a man in a dispute over a phone charger.

Lemuel Lee from Croydon was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court to 12-years, after an unprovoked attack in Gravesend which left his victim suffering multiple injuries.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how on June 20, Lee, who is 20, along with Meshack Noel, travelled from the capital to a flat in Gravesham Court in order for Noel to supply drugs, the pair were staying overnight.

The next day a number of people were inside the property when Noel became involved in an altercation with a woman who claimed he had taken her phone charger.

He pushed her against a wall and grabbed her by the throat. When the victim attempted to intervene Lee jumped up from a sofa and stabbed him twice with a large kitchen knife, causing injuries to his heart and liver.

Both suspects fled the scene leaving the victim with life threatening injuries.

He was airlifted to a London hospital, where he survived after emergency surgery.

An investigation by police led to CCTV evidence which identified both Lee and Noel as the suspects.

They were arrested on the evening of the assault at an address where they both lived, in Rees Gardens, Croydon.

Lee was subsequently charged with attempted murder and remanded in custody.

His accomplice, Noel 26, was granted bail with conditions not to enter Kent. However, on July 8 he visited the home of a key witness and threatened her not to give evidence, leaving a note warning "snitches get stitches".

He was arrested again two days later and remanded in custody. Both suspects denied any wrongdoing.

At trial Lee was found not guilty of attempted murder, but convicted of an alternative charge of wounding with intent.

Noel was found guilty of perverting the course of justice (namely disposal of the knife used by Lee) and witness intimidation.

Today Lee was sentenced to 12 years and Noel received six years’ imprisonment.

DC Angela Cann of the Major Crime Unit said: "This was a shocking and brutal assault and one which would have also caused great alarm and distress to those who witnessed it.

"The attack was unprovoked and could have quite easily had fatal consequences. Lee is now rightly facing a substantial prison sentence.

"Noel also played a significant role in this incident. His actions in initially assaulting the woman and then trying to intimidate this witness into retracting her statement, in addition to discarding key evidence, are yet further proof of the contempt both Lee and Noel have for the law."

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