Knife attacker traced by Che Guevara tattoo
Laurie Georgio - Credit: Archant
A youth worker who stabbed a man in the middle of a busy supermarket has been jailed after being identified by his distinctive tattoo.
Laurie Georgiou, 30, chased Jamal Qasen down the street and up and down the aisles of the
Akdeniz Supermarket where he had run for refuge, before plunging a knife into his thigh when he tripped up.
The scene in Well Street, South Hackney, on September 5, 2013 played out in front of terrified shoppers and children.
Mr Qasen needed two operations to stop the bleeding.
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Judge Wendy Joseph told Georgiou that what happened, “must have been unutterably terrifying not only for him but for other people in the area”.
She added: “He must have thought he was about to die.”
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The investigating officer recognised Georgiou from CCTV as the victim of an attack at the Lovebox Music Festival in Victoria Park, on July 20, 2013, thanks to his Che Guevara tattoo.
By the time he was arrested 13 months later, Georgiou had added to his tattoo collection with two assault rifles forming a cross.
Georgiou claimed during the trial that he had been wrongly identified, insisting that a Che Guevara tattoo is “very common”.
He later said he carried out the stabbing in retaliation for injuries he suffered at the hands of Mr Qasen’s gang – but the victim insisted he did not know Georgiou.
Georgiou, of Musgrove House, Hassett House, Homerton, was convicted of wounding with intent at the Old Bailey and jailed for eight years and four months on Friday.
He was also given a six month concurrent jail term for the breach of suspended sentence for common assault on his ex-partner at the time of the attack.
NB This story was edited on January 25. The original story said that the court was told Georgiou had worked at the Crib youth club. The club has asked us to point out that he never worked at The Crib.
