Man, 19, pleads guilty to machete slashing incident

A 19-year-old man has pleaded guilty to Section 20 GBH, possession of a bladed article, and two counts of witness intimidation, following an incident in Northampton in July 2020.

Daniel Koopman, 19, previously of Northampton, pleaded guilty to the offences in relation to an incident outside a school in Thorn Hill, Northampton, at about 9pm on July 2, 2020, when he approached a then 18-year-old man, and attacked him with a machete, causing the man to suffer a deep cut to his arm.

Thankfully, the man made a full recovery following the incident.

Following the incident, Koopman subjected the victim and a witness to intimidation over social media as he tried to make them drop the case.

At Leicester Crown Court last week, he pleaded guilty to all the offences and will be sentenced on February 12, 2021, at Leicester Crown Court.

Lead Investigator, DC Hannah Roche, said: “This was a brazen attack outside a primary school which I hope will be rewarded with a substantial sentence in February.

“I’m really pleased that Koopman decided to plead guilty to the offences instead of making the victim relive the attack at a trial.

“I hope he has reflected on what happened last July and will make better choices in the future.”