Birmingham knifeman Jalen Denny caught using facial recognition

A man who attacked a scooter rider with a knife, leaving him with wounds to his shoulder and stomach, was tracked down and arrested after detectives used facial recognition technology.

Jalen Denny confronted the 33-year-old rider in Selly Oak in June last year and attacked him for reasons that are still unknown, police said.

CCTV showed a clear image of his face and police used facial recognition to compare his picture to suspects on the Police National Database – the technology found several matches to Denny.

The 27-year-old from Pershore Road, Selly Oak, was charged with attempted murder but admitted wounding with intent at Birmingham Crown Court and was jailed on Friday.

He was given a prison term of five years and 10 months and was ordered to serve a further five years on licence.

Police said the attack happened on the corner of Bristol Road and North Road at about 20:30 BST on 1 June last year.

Denny was seen on CCTV being chased by the rider into North Street, before Denny pulled out a knife and attacked him.

The rider was taken to hospital where he had emergency surgery twice and was placed in an induced coma.

Police searched the database, and Denny was arrested less than 48 hours after the attack.

Officers said further investigations had also linked his phone to the area of the attack at the time it happened.

PC Zach Bilili, from West Midlands Police, said: “Facial recognition helped lead us to Denny really quickly, and we were able to locate and arrest him within two days of this really violent attack.

“The victim is lucky to be alive. The injuries were really severe and this could very easily have become a murder investigation.”