Police officer wounded during arrest of Leeds drug dealer carrying machete and fake firearm

Esrom Tsegai, 23, of Beevers Court, was carrying the bladed weapon in his jacket on October 28, along with an imitation firearm.

The sharp tip of the machete was resting in the man bag worn by Tsegai when he was approached by the police officer. During the course of the arrest, an “accident” meant the officer was left with a large wound requiring treatment.

Tsegai was already on bail at the time for possessing heroin more than a year earlier.

Appearing before Leeds Crown Court on July 6, he was sentenced to five years in prison for inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, possessing an imitation firearm in a public place and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place – as well as the earlier crime in May 2021 of possessing with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A.

The court was told that Tsegai’s bad behaviour seemed to start soon after he left home at the age of 17. Imran Khan, for the defence, said that Tsegai’s mother had offered “stability”, while his new friends were “perhaps leading him astray”.

The defendant has appeared regularly in court and has been found with weapons on at least three other occasions.

The imitation firearm he carried in the most recent incident looked “very real”, according to Judge Mushtaq Khokar, and was likely used to “gain reputation or respect”.

In sentencing, the judge referred to a letter written by the defendant’s mother. He said: “I’ve read with a great deal of interest the letter from your caring mother who is concerned about you. But after living independently, her influence on you waned.

“When you come out, you will listen to your mother and will try to stay out of trouble. The way I see it, if you don’t change, you will get longer and longer sentences.

“It is inevitable that if you hang around with the same people, you will continue to commit the same offences – and one of these days you will use the weapons you carry. The consequences of that are only too obvious.”

The judge said that it was clear that Tsegai had not intended to injure the police officer, but added: “It is not surprising that an officer could get hurt when arresting you, because you were carrying this machete unsheathed.”