Michael Ambrose and his wife Natalie were enjoying a date night when they decided to pop into a casino where Natalie had won a few quid on the bingo, but things took a terrifying turn
A father-of-five who took his wife out for a bingo evening found himself attacked by a man wreaking havoc in a casino.
On 11th June 2023, Michael Ambrose, 49, and his wife Natalie, 42, from Warrington, had gone on a date night to enjoy bingo at a casino in the Cockhedge Shopping Centre in Warrington.
Mum Natalie secured the bingo win, but the night took a shocking turn as they went to collect their prize money.
Michael told the Liverpool Echo how he initially heard yelling coming from somewhere in the casino and women screaming. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he investigated the commotion and discovered Constantin Lupo destroying slot machines using a bar stool.
He explained: “We were out on a cheeky night out without the kids. My wife won £10 and we’d gone to collect it. While cashing out I heard banging and women screaming and running about. I saw him smashing up the fruit machines so I went over to disarm him and try and hold him until the police arrived.
“I was scared for my wife. He was threatening staff but all I could think about was holding him until the police got there because my wife was there, I didn’t want anyone to come into danger, especially my wife.”
Whilst restraining Lupo, Michael was assaulted with a lock knife.
He recalled: “I could feel fresh air on my neck immediately. I held his wrist so he couldn’t let go of the knife.
“I just wanted to protect everyone else, I had to stop him doing damage to anyone else. He was threatening everyone.”
Police arrived promptly at the scene and apprehended Lupo.
Following the assault, Michael was immediately taken to hospital for surgery. He said: “The surgeon told me if it had been an inch lower I would have died. I was so lucky. I think that’s when the shock of what had happened hit us. It was scary for all the family. It was a crazy date night.”
Constantin Lupo, from Widnes, was sentenced to eight months in prison on Friday, August 1, after being convicted of criminal damage, inflicting grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in public following a four-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
The court was informed that on June 11, 2023, the 37 year old caused £8,734 worth of damage by using a bar stool to smash five slot machines at the casino.
Michael shared chilling CCTV footage from the casino with the ECHO, capturing the moment his attacker used a bar stool to vandalise slot machines.
During his police interview, Lupo denied his charges of criminal damage, but admitted to having “gotten angry at the slot machines,” which he claimed had been “lying” to him.
Detective Constable Stephan Wolstenholme stated: “Even in light of Constantin Lupo maintaining his innocence throughout the entire investigation and forcing the victim to relive the incident in court all over again, I do hope that today’s result offers some reassurance to the victim involved in this unjustified and violent ordeal.
“This could have been a potentially life-threatening situation for the member of the public who had, rightfully, challenged Lupo, who could not handle the result of his afternoon of gambling and caused a substantial amount of damage to several machines he had been using.
“The victim was simply doing all they could to stop Lupo’s rampage and did not deserve to be violently attacked. Cheshire Police treats every report of assault with the utmost seriousness, and our officers will do everything they can to get victims the justice they deserve.”
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