A PRINCETOWN man has been jailed for a total of 20 years for a vicious attack which left two Tavistock police officers badly wounded as well as the sexual abuse of a young girl.

Jon Ross, 62, stabbed PC Darren Brimacombe and PC Tim Willett in what the judge described as a ‘frenzied attack’ in the middle of the night. The officers had been called to Ross’s address in Burrator Avenue, Princetown just before midnight on July 8 2021.

They were answering an alert from Ross’s partner who was worried he was going to make an attempt on his own life.

The officers stopped him while he was at the wheel of his car swigging from a bottle. He was drunk.

Video footage played in court show the two officers politely trying to reason with Ross to leave his vehicle. The next thing seen was blood, the sounds of a scuffle and the moans of an officer in pain as he was repeatedly stabbed by Ross. His colleague tried to drag him off and was heard trying to call an ambulance, saying ‘an officer has been stabbed’.  

Ross was sentenced to 12 years for two counts of GBH with intent to wound by Judge Simon Carr at Truro Crown Court this morning (October 20).

He was also sentenced to a further eight years in prison for four counts of serious sexual abuse of a girl, now grown up, between 1999 and 2004. Ross has been in custody since April this year when he was convicted by jury of the four counts of serious sexual abuse, after the victim, as an adult, found the courage to testify against him.

The court in Truro heard that Ross had mental health problems, being on the autism spectrum and suffering from depression, anxiety and possibly an undiagnosed personality disorder.

However Judge Carr said that the underlying cause of the ‘extreme violence’ against the two police officers in July 2021, had been his decision to drink to excess on the night in question and arm himself in advance with a knife.

The violence against PC Brimacombe was particularly severe, with Ross stabbing him repeatedly to the head. In a statement read out in court, the officer said he genuinely thought Ross was trying to kill him.

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‘Frenzied is a word that is overused by the courts but it isn’t overused in this case,’ he said.

Speaking afterwards DC Craig Ferguson, of Tavistock, said: ‘The officers were on duty and in uniform when they attended to try and help [Ross]. They knew him personally from previous dealings where they had successfully helped him. The officers sought to speak with him and tried to help, but he responded by repeatedly stabbing them in a sustained attack.

‘As a result, Jon Ross has been imprisoned for a lengthy period of time, meaning that a significant risk has now been removed from our local community.’

One of the officers attacked has had to step back from frontline duties, while the other officer has suffered mental health problems and is considering leaving the police. Judge Carr said the impact on them had been ‘devastating’.’

DC Ferguson added: ‘The incident highlights the level of risk that our police officers can face when attending incidents. I would like to take the opportunity to commend my colleagues and those who attended and gave them immediate first aid at the scene.’