Man jailed for serious assault in Portsmouth’s Canoe Lake car park

A Portsmouth man has been sentenced to seven years in prison following a serious assault in Canoe Lake car park, Portsmouth, last February.

Levi Morey, 41, of Mayo Close, pleaded not guilty to Section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent, however a jury found him guilty of the offence following a four-day trial in January of this year.

The court heard how police were called shortly before 5pm on February 1 2022 to reports that a man had been assaulted with a knife in the car park at Canoe Lake. A member of the public was able to provide police with the registration number of a car that had been seen leaving the car park with the victim inside.

Officers conducted a search and found the car in the car park of St Mary’s walk-in treatment centre, where the victim, a man in his 30s, was also located receiving treatment on a cut to his neck. He was later transferred to Queen Alexandra Hospital for surgery and was subsequently discharged.

An investigation was launched and a witness at the scene was able to identify the offender as Morey. He was arrested two days later and later charged with Section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent.

Following his trial, he appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court today (Friday 3 March) where he was sentenced to seven years in prison, with an extended licence period of two years.

This sentence is also in relation to a second incident in April 2022, which took place in the Guildhall Square area.

We were called to an altercation taking place between two men which left one of them, who is in his 40s, with minor injuries to his head and neck. Officers attended and reviewed CCTV, leading to the arrest of Morey at the scene.

He was later charged with affray, which he pleaded guilty to.

Detective Constable Dana Mabe, who led the investigation, said: “We are pleased that Morey will now face the consequences of this violent and senseless act and I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of every officer involved in this case. The team worked tirelessly to ensure we were able to present all the evidence before the court and take a dangerous offender off the streets.

“I would also like to offer my sincere thanks to three key witnesses in this case, who were just general members of the public who happened to be in the area during what was a violent and scary assault for them to witness. They stayed committed throughout the court process, and without their support we would not have secured this outcome today.

“Carrying a knife will simply never be tolerated by police. Making that decision to pick up a bladed weapon creates the very real risk that you could kill or seriously injure someone.

“This case makes that shocking reality clear. We regularly make proactive efforts to target knife carriers and remove weapons from the streets. This work won’t stop, and we hope that anyone thinking of carrying a knife recognises that there are serious consequences both for themselves and others when they make that decision to pick up a weapon.”

If you have any information or concerns about knife crime in your community, you can report non-emergency crime to 101, visit our website or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. In an emergency always call 999.

For advice on where to get support if you have become involved in knife crime or to pass on information anonymously, you can also visit https://orlo.uk/A7SwW