The actions of a rampaging knifeman who attempted to kill two people in Exeter were caught on camera and played at his recent sentencing. Leon Telemacque stabbed the couple as they walked away from a bus stop in Exeter city centre.
The horrific incident was caught on CCTV – as was his attempted escape from the scene with a knife in his hand. Police body-worn cameras then recorded the moment he was arrested.
Video evidence plays a key role in securing criminal convictions in courts up and and down the country every day of the week. In the last five years the quality of the footage has improved and it is rare to see grainy or cloudy footage questioned in evidence.
Video can also prove the innocence of defendants accused of crimes. Often it is used by defence lawyers to pinpoint their client’s role in affrays or acts of street violence. This might include the number of kicks or blows landed which has a bearing on sentence.
In recent years dashcam footage has played a prominent role in dangerous drive cases.
From murder to shoplifting, here are some Devon recent cases where video evidence played a crucial role in convictions.
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Leon Telemacque attempted to hide the knife he used to stab two strangers
A homicidal knifeman who tried to kill two strangers during a savage city centre attack told police “I’ve livened up Exeter a bit”.
Leon Telemacque attempted to murder a 24-year-old man and his 23-year-old girlfriend in Bampfylde Street. The couple had been waiting at a bus stop before the 31-year-old launched his brutal assault.
CCTV captured the moment he attacked them from behind with a 20cm blade, stabbing the man three times and the woman twice.
Audio captured the screams as he jabbed the knife at the couple then chased the man, who drew the attacker away from his girlfriend, onto Sidwell Street.
A group of students helped the victim and followed Telemacque as he ran away. The attacker was arrested a few minutes later near the Vue cinema by taser-carrying police.
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James Short has been jailed
(Image: Devon & Cornwall Police)
A man was viciously beaten by a gang of strangers after buying late-night booze at the Premier shop in Exeter’s South Street. James Short, a 42-year-old homeless man, was one of three men who stole the victim’s mobile phone, wallet and drink and he lay unconscious on the ground, a court heard.
He was caught after returning to the scene and was spotted by CCTV in South Street. Short, who has a long list of previous crimes to his name, admitted robbery and was jailed for three years and four months at Exeter Crown Court.
He said he did not take part in the brutal attack but made the “wrong decision” by following him into an alleyway and stealing his belongings.
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PC Christopher Spence in Lidl
A Devon police officer who was caught on camera stealing nuts, cheese and treats from Lidl has been given a community order. Christopher Spence, 44, admitted shoplifting at the store in Bideford in February.
Spence was a constable working for Devon and Cornwall Police but was off-duty at the time, a court heard. CCTV filmed him walking around the store in Clovelly Road with a rucksack over his shoulder.
Over a period of several minutes he wandered around the aisles selecting items from shelves and put them in his rucksack. He helped himself to a packet of steak, crisps, nuts, a block of cheese, two bottles of drink, and four Easter treat bags.
He went to the self-serve checkout but only paid for one item. He could be seen holding a loaf of bread as he left the shop.
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Samuel Oleksiewicz
(Image: Devon & Cornwall Police)
Security staff at Exeter Christmas market were left retching after a man squirted them in the face with a pepper-type spray. Samuel Oleksiewicz tried to escape after being taken to one side at the last year’s festive market on Cathedral Green.
He used PAVA spray to incapacitate four members of the security team. It happened while hundreds of people were nearby enjoying the yuletide stalls.
Oleksiewicz, a 41-year-old from Poland, appeared at Exeter Crown Court where he admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and four charges of administering a poison or noxious substance. He was jailed for 12 months.
The court was played CCTV footage of the incident.
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Katie Rockett has been jailed for a stabbing in Torquay
(Image: Devon & Cornwall Police)
A woman was jailed for stabbing a man in the head during a violent clash outside Torquay Town Hall. Katie Rockett used a Stanley knife to inflict a wound near James Clarke’s ear, a court heard.
The incident in Castle Circus led to a large police response and the road around the council building and nearby library was taped off while the scene was investigated.
Rockett and Dodd, 29, were arrested later that night at their address in Abbey Road. The pair were initially charged with attempted murder but that was later changed to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
CCTV of the incident played a crucial role in her conviction.
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Cameron Davis leaving hospital
Exeter park killer Cameron Davis was jailed for life for the murder of ‘random stranger’ Lorna England. The 31-year-old must spend a minimum of 28 years in prison.
He stabbed the 74-year-old grandmother through the heart as she walked home from Lidl through Ludwell Valley Park. He was angry about losing his accommodation and not being given a hospital bed for mental health issues.
CCTV showed Davis loitering about the back of a sports centre, drinking vodka, before the murder. Camera evidence was used extensively in the trial to map his movements before and after the fatal moment.
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Jolly Abbot (Google)
A man who blinded his workmate with a dart at a Christmas party has been ordered to pay him £7,800 in compensation. Robert Gosling threw the arrow with force during a festive session at the Jolly Abbot in Newton Abbot.
It lodged just above the victim’s eyebrow and he was taken to hospital. As a result, the man lost sight in the eye and has been unable to go back to work. He told a court he will “forever be mentally and physically scarred” by what happened.
Gosling, 27, of Newton St Cyres, admitted causing grievous bodily harm. He was given a suspended sentence for 20 months with 300 hours of unpaid work.
CCTV showed a large group of men playing pool, darts, drinking and standing around in the pub and Gosling launching the dart overarm.
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Jemma Mitchell with suitcase
(Image: METROPOLITAN POLICE)
Deborah Chong, whose real name was Mee Kuen Chong, was murdered and decapitated in 2021. Her body was transported 200 miles from her home in London and discovered in rural South Devon by walkers.
Her ‘friend’ Jemma Mitchell was a trained osteopath who had boasted online of her skill in human dissection. She entered Deborah’s house on June 11, 2021 with a big blue suitcase, with which she was seen leaving four hours later.
CCTV saw her dragging the suitcase down the street. Mitchell was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum recommended sentence of 34 years.
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James Forrest-Hazell caused a serious injury crash in Exmouth
A teenager drove like an “absolute nutter” when he caused a horror smash that seriously injured a woman in Exmouth. Drug-taking James Forrest-Hazell was just 16 years old when he speeded away from police and smashed into the side of a car waiting at the junction of Dinan Way, a court heard.
The force of the impact was so hard that it sent the woman’s Fiat 500 flying through the air, over a brick wall and onto the driveway of a house. She was left barely conscious hanging upside down from her seatbelt with her adult son in the passenger seat next to her.
It happened as Forrest-Hazell tried to negotiate a sweeping right hand bend but lost control due to his speed and mounted the grass verge. Dashcam footage from another car showed him collide at high-speed with the driver side of the Fiat 500 that was waiting to turn out of a residential street.
Forrest-Hazell, now 18, from Arena Park, Exeter, was arrested at the scene and said he thought someone would be dead. He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 18 months in a Young Offender Institution. He was banned from driving for 10 years.