Shoplifter jailed for stabbing security guard outside Preston store

A shoplifter who stabbed a security guard as he fled from a store near to Preston city centre, has been sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

Andrzej Mikulski stabbed the guard in the thigh with a kitchen knife outside B&M Bargains, Carlisle Street, on 26^th February.

The security guard, a man in his 40s, had followed Mikulski out of the store after he had left with a basket of goods without paying.

Three Lancashire police officers who answered the emergency call, provided lifesaving first aid treatment – using tourniquets to stem the bleeding.

The victim was airlifted to Royal Preston Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, the two consultant vascular surgeons who operated finding that the knife had come close to passing completely through his thigh.

Around 45 minutes after the stabbing, our firearm officers stopped Mikulski and arrested him on Edward Street.

He had blood stains on his hands and jacket sleeve and was carrying a backpack. A kitchen knife with a 19cm x 3cm pointed blade, was found on him.

Mikulski’s clothing and description matched that given by several witnesses at B&M Bargains.

The stabbing was the culmination of a spree of offending by Mikulski in Preston on the 25^th and 26^th of February.

That included stealing a rucksack containing a laptop from the Market Offices on Early Street after pulling out a knife, theft from shops and theft of a pedal cycle.

Mikulski, 27, of no fixed address, was found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court in August of Section 18 wounding with intent.

Prior to the trial, he had pleaded guilty to offences of robbery, attempted robbery, three offences of possessing a knife/bladed article in a public place, and four offences of theft.

At a sentencing hearing today (20th October), Mikulski was jailed for 22 years and 6 months for wounding with intent, with concurrent terms for the other offences. He must serve 17 years of that term before being eligible for parole.

Mikulski was not in court to hear his sentence, having refused to appear in the dock. He’d been remanded in custody since being arrested in February.

Detective Constable Alex Akers, of Preston CID, said: “Andrzej Mikulski was prepared to use a knife to stab a man and inflict an horrendous injury on a security guard, all for the sake of escaping with a basket of goods which he had stolen from B&M Bargains.

“Had it not been for the actions of the police officers and paramedics at the scene, and then the skill of the surgeons, an innocent man might well have lost his life.

“Mikulski committed several offences over a two-day period in February, culminating in the stabbing.

“I welcome the prison sentence passed on him, which means a violent man will be off the streets for a long period of time.

“The evidence presented in court to secure his conviction was compiled by a dedicated investigation team.”