A UK rapper who left his London home to start a new life in Scotland has been jailed for inflicting horrific injuries on two men with a machete.
Louis Stacey, 23, assaulted Stephen Ritchie and Gordon Graham with the weapon during a confrontation in Fraserburgh, on December 27 2020.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how the injury inflicted by Stacey on Mr Ritchie was so bad that his internal organs were left exposed and his bowel was cut apart.
Medics at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary managed to save Mr Ritchie’s life – but consultants who treated him reckoned he was just hours from death.
Mr Graham managed to escape serious injury but still needed hospital treatment.
Police arrested Stacey – who raps as Mr Bando – after he fled Fraserburgh in the hours following the attack.
He claimed he was forced to act in self defence and carry the weapon after he feared that a group of men in the town were going to kill him.
Remanded in custody
However, at the end of a seven-day trial jurors convicted Stacey, of Lordship Lane, Tottenham, on a charge of assaulting Mr Ritchie whilst wearing a balaclava to conceal his identity.
They convicted him of running at Mr Ritchie in the town’s Moray Road before striking him on his neck and stomach with a machete.
Jurors deleted a reference to attempted murder from the charge but the charge stated that Mr Ritchie was left severely injured, permanently disfigured, permanently impaired and that his life was placed in danger.
He was also convicted of striking Mr Graham on his leg with a machete.
Judge Lord Tyre remanded Stacey in custody and ordered reports to be obtained concerning his background.
He told Stacey: “You have been convicted of two assaults – one of which was very serious.
“It is extremely likely that the only appropriate sentence would be the imposition of a custodial disposal.
“But before passing sentence, I shall call for reports concerning your background and circumstances.
“It is appropriate in the circumstances for you to be remanded in custody.”
Drill rapper
Stacey raps as Mr Bando – he is known in UK drill circles and his music is featured on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. He is tipped as an up and coming MC.
Drill is a genre of hip hop music which has been criticised in the past for its graphic depictions of violence and drugs.
Stacey’s videos see him rap about selling drugs. In one video, he poses with scantily clad young women beside a Rolls Royce.
‘Bando’ is a slang term used by drill rappers to describe an abandoned house which is used by gangs to sell drugs.
During proceedings, the court heard that in the moments before the attacks on Mr Ritchie and Mr Graham, Stacey was seen standing outside a house in Moray Road and was shouting: “Get out of the house or the door will go up in flames.”
Jurors heard that Stacey armed himself with a machete in a bid to collect money from a man who owed him money.
He also wore a balaclava in a bid to disguise his identity.
However, Stacey became involved in a confrontation with a group of men including Stephen Ritchie and Gordon Graham
He inflicted life threatening injuries on Stephen Ritchie causing him to need urgent surgery to keep him alive.
He also stabbed Gordon Graham’s right knee – doctors glued the wound and another cut to his right thigh which needed cleaning.
‘Internal organs exposed’
The court heard that Mr Ritchie was taken to a minor injuries clinic in Fraserburgh but was later transferred to Aberdeen.
Reading from a joint minute of agreed evidence, prosecutor Dale Hughes said that the wound to Mr Ritchie’s abdomen was 30 centimetre in length which caused “his internal organs to be exposed”.
Mr Hughes added: “The laceration was approximately 30 centimetres in length and caused an injury to his small bowel and colon as well as severing a large artery in his abdomen.
“He suffered a penetrating injury in the left side of his neck which caused a two centimetre tear to his throat, injury to his windpipe and damaged an artery.
“He was subsequently transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary that day where he underwent an emergency laparotomy to stem abdominal bleeding.
“The ends of his colon were stapled. He underwent another colorectal operation on December 29 and his bowel was rejoined. He was fed through a nasal gastric tube for two weeks. That a reasonable degree of force had been used to cause the neck injury as it reached the back of his throat and was very close to the carotid artery.
“Had this artery been hit, it is typical for the patient to die within a short period of time. That without medical intervention, it is highly likely he would have died within hours of his injuries.
Following the attack, Stacey returned to London in a bid to escape being arrested by the police.
Fled scene and returned to London
However, detectives in Fraserburgh gathered enough evidence to prove his guilt. Officers found DNA belonging to Stacey on a balaclava found at the crime scene.
Eyewitnesses also reported hearing the man who carried out the attack on Mr Ritchie as having a “Tottenham accent”.
Metropolitan Police detectives arrested Stacey in January 2021 and brought him back to Scotland.
The court heard that Stacey came to live in Fraserburgh to live with his girlfriend as he wanted to start a “new life” away from Tottenham.
Stacey told the court that he became aware that people in the town wanted to attack him and that a local in Fraserburgh gave him a “kitchen tool” to defend himself.
He said he acted in self-defence and his lawyers lodged a special defence in court stating that.
He said: “I was terrified. I thought I was going to lose my life. I was very, very scared.”
He said he fled to London in a bid to avoid being further targeted by Fraserburgh residents and sought medical assistance from injuries he sustained in the attack.
However, he was unable to produce any medical records from hospitals in London which showed that he had been treated for injuries.
‘He is a vicious enforcer’
In his closing speech, Mr Hughes urged jurors to reject Stacey’s story about being targeted by the Grahams.
He said: “He is not a poor London boy trying to make a new life for himself in Fraserburgh. He is not an innocent abroad. He is a vicious enforcer trying to collect debts.
“I ask you to find him guilty on the charges.”
Following conviction, Mr Hughes told the court that Stacey had previous convictions for cannabis and knife possession.
Defence solicitor advocate Paul Mullen said he’d speak on behalf of his client once the court obtained background reports.
He added: “I will reserve my mitigation for a later date.”
Stacey will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on March 24 2023.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
