Nine year prison sentence handed to man who stabbed taxi driver friend during disagreement

A man who stabbed a taxi driver friend four times during a disagreement has been jailed for nine years.

The victim of the knife attack, which took place in Canterbury on Tuesday 30 April, was left bleeding in his vehicle after the attack which left him with wounds to his leg.

Ilir Deskaj, 38, was jailed for nine years following the attack.  The incident happened at around 11.20pm when the victim, in his 40s, had just finished work. He was called by Deskaj and asked to drive over to his house in Frencham Close. The pair were friends and they chatted in the car because Deskaj wanted to speak to him about an issue he had with a mutual friend. The victim didn’t want to get involved in the argument so Deskaj turned on him. He got out of the man’s car and went to walk away before turning around, shouting and swearing at the victim, and accusing him of taking sides. Deskaj then pulled a kitchen knife from his pocket, walked towards the open driver's door and stabbed his friend in the thigh. Whilst the victim was trying to stem the flow of blood, he was stabbed twice more in the leg. He tried to close the door on Deskaj but then suffered a wound to his hand too before his attacker ran away. Injured and bleeding, the victim called 999 for help. Kent Police officers attended the scene and gave first aid before he was taken to hospital via ambulance. He was able to tell police what happened and patrols went to Deskaj’s address. When police arrived he admitted to hurting the man and was arrested. Police also arrested 20-year-old Benjamin Deskaj and retrieved a knife from the property that had been cleaned and hidden within the house. Benjamin admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice and is due to be sentenced at a later date. Deskaj denied attempted murder but pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon on the first day of his trial at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday 8 October. He was sentenced on the same day. Investigating officer DC Peter Emanuel said: "This was a very violent act and the sentence handed down by the court reflects the severity of what Deskaj did.

"He purposely took a knife with him and carried out the attack on a person who was sat in a car and unable to defend themselves. "Kent Police will continue to tackle the culture around carrying knives and those who think doing so is acceptable." 

Image: Source; Kent Police