Two brothers laughed as they left a man for dead after a knife attack outside his own front door.
Craig Treverrow and David Gamble ran off from the scene of the attack towards nearby Dentwood Street in Dingle, leaving their victim bleeding heavily.
Treverrow was confronted shortly after the incident by Robert Hughes, a relative of the victim's partner, and said: “I have just done your man.”
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When questioned he pulled out a knife and became angry and shortly afterwards lunged at the man’s partner.
Treverrow ran off when he heard the police were on the way and was “completely off his face,” said Peter Killen, prosecuting.
He was found by police hiding under a duvet at a friend’s nearby home and appeared to be under the influence of drink and drugs. He said: "I’m flying."
Liverpool Crown Court heard today that he was shouting: "They pulled knives. They are about to get dealt with. I could have killed them on the step. Watch, something going to happen."
Mr Killen said: “Something did happen - he was arrested.”
Gamble, who had repeatedly struck 35-year-old victim John Peter Smith with a plank of wood before his brother knifed him three times in the back, was also arrested after voluntarily surrendering himself.
Treverrow, 31, of Dovecot Place, Dovecot, admitted wounding and threatening with a bladed article. He was jailed for three years.
Gamble, 25, also of Dovecot Place, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to wounding.
Judge David Potter said that on February 27, 2019, there was an altercation between Gamble and Mr Smith which ended with Mr Smith punching him.
Judge Potter said: “That clearly formed the background to what happened the next day.”
About 6pm the next day the brothers turned up outside Mr Smith’s home, while his family was there, and when Mr Smith came out with a bat they ran off threatening to return.
Five hours later they returned, Gamble armed with a plank of wood and Treverrow with a knife.
Judge Potter said: “A confrontation occurred at Mr Smith’s front door which resulted in him being pulled or pushed onto the area outside his front door where you two then commenced a joint and serious attack upon him.
“You David Gamble struck him numerous times with a plank of wood and you Craig Treverrow stabbed him three times in the back with knife carried to the scene.”
He said that afterwards Treverrow threatened others with the knife and there was a serious risk of disorder.
Mr Smith, who had been calling out to his partner for help, was rushed to hospital where it was found he had injuries described as life-threatening.
Medics discovered he had suffered three stab wounds one of which had penetrated his chest wall and caused his lung to collapse. He was bleeding profusely and the wound had to be stitched and a chest drain attached.
Mr Smith also had two fractured ribs and a fracture to a shoulder.
The court was told the victim, who described the attack as “horrific”, said “I believe I was lucky to still be alive.”
He had been left in pain and had experienced low moods since the incident and said the scars were a daily reminder of the attack.
Ken Heckle, defending, said Treverrow had a sad background which might explain why he has problems with depression, anxiety and alcohol.
The dad-of-three had self-referred himself for help with his alcohol dependency but had lapsed after his former partner, the mother of his two eldest children, died on Christmas Day.
He said the defendant had become involved “out of a mis-guided sense of loyalty” to his brother that night.
Mr Heckle said: “He accepts his behaviour was totally unacceptable and is mortified he caused such serious injury.”
Mr Heckle said Treverrow maintains the victim and another man had come out of the house armed with baseball bats and there had been elements of provocation and excessive self-defence in his actions.
Defence barrister Kate Morley said that Gamble had pleaded guilty on the day his trial was due to begin despite knowing the complainant had not attended.
He had picked up the plank of wood on the way and had not known his brother had a knife with him.
Miss Morley said: “He was astonished when he learnt what he had done.”
She described him as immature and possibly autistic and said he is “utterly ashamed of himself.”
He had a difficult upbringing and was amenable to having counselling and has managed to abstain from alcohol, she added.
Gamble had had two suspended sentences hanging over him at the time of the offence but no previous convictions for violence and had never been to prison, said Miss Morley.
Judge Potter imposed 21 months for the wounding and activated three months of his suspended sentence for dangerous driving to run consecutively.
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