![\"PSNI](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/4c91\/live\/401c7850-4206-11f0-bb70-638c3138e72c.png.webp\")
PSNI<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nA man has been sentenced to 11 years for a “sustained, brutal attack” on a man who was stabbed in the chest, slashed on the face and dumped in a field in County Antrim.<\/p>\n The victim, who was found by bin men outside Broughshane in October 2021, suffered permanent and life-changing injuries, including a brain injury.<\/p>\n David Coleman, 39, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and grievous bodily harm and was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.<\/p>\n He will serve half of his 11-year term in prison and half on licence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Four other men involved in the attack were jailed last year.<\/p>\n Police said throughout the “nightmarish attack”, the victim was kicked and continually forced to wipe up his own blood as his attackers laughed.<\/p>\n The court was told the victim was asked to bag cocaine at Coleman’s Ballymena flat before he was accused of stealing customers.<\/p>\n He was repeatedly punched in the face by Coleman who then took a large knife and stabbed him in the chest before putting it in his mouth.<\/p>\n Mr Coleman, who was laughing throughout, slashed the blade across the victim’s face.<\/p>\n He then called someone and asked: “Where do I get rid of somebody?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The victim was later bundled into the back of a car by other men and dumped in a field on the Lisnamurrican Road near Broughshane.<\/p>\n It was there that he was assaulted with a hatchet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During sentencing Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the fracture to the victim’s skull caused by the hatchet was not caused by Coleman but said he “used a knife in a cruel way” and that the victim was subjected to a “sustained, brutal attack”.<\/p>\n A Crown barrister previously told the court Coleman encouraged and directed others involved in the kidnapping.<\/p>\n He also said he had a “long-standing association with paramilitaries”.<\/p>\n At an earlier hearing, Coleman’s barrister said his client had already served more than three years in custody and did not inflict the skull fracture which caused significant and permanent damage.<\/p>\n Coleman was given a nine-year sentence with a further two years added due to him being considered dangerous.<\/p>\n Judge Kerr said Coleman’s record contains violence including links to paramilitary offences and that he is assessed as being a high-risk offender by the Probation Board NI.<\/p>\n “The most significant matter is that he has a history of dealing in drugs and that this incident arose from that,” the judge said.<\/p>\n “His total indifference to his victim shows a mindsight that he does and will pose a significant risk of causing serious harm.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Police described the attack as “barbaric and depraved” and said “the level of violence inflicted is shocking”.<\/p>\n “The defenceless victim was viciously beaten, stabbed in the chest with a knife and sliced on both sides of his face,” Det Insp McCoy said. <\/p>\n “Throughout the nightmarish attack, he was kicked and continually forced to wipe up the blood. Meanwhile, the defendants laughed.”<\/p>\n He added: “This man, somehow, survived. His journey, however, has been traumatic and for the first number of weeks he remained in intensive care under sedation. <\/p>\n “Injuries included a stab wound to his chest, fracture and detachment of the jaw, injuries to his face and mouth, and a fracture to the base of the skull. He has in fact sustained a permanent brain injury.<\/p>\n “Today, with the support of colleagues in the Public Prosecution Service, David Coleman has been held accountable for his actions.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250529-103858-de9d27ef1-web-2.22.3-1\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/3451\/live\/a034e230-4207-11f0-bb70-638c3138e72c.jpg.webp\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘Association with paramilitaries’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
‘Shocking level of violence’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n