A man who nearly cut off a taxi driver’s nose in a “gratuitous and sadistic” act of violence has been jailed.
Manchester Crown Court at Crown Square heard how Richard McCormack, 38, of Bell Lane, Bury, had gone out in the early hours of January 8 when he came across a man close to The Rock shopping centre, asking him for a cigarette paper before producing a four inch knife and demanding the whole stack.
Robert Elias, prosecuting, told the court that McCormack threatened the man, saying “get your white a**e out of here or I’ll stab you up and kill you”, whilst wearing a face mask. A taxi driver then pulled up outside the Halifax bank to let a woman grab cash out to pay the fare, and McCormack jumped into the back of the cab, bringing the knife to the driver’s throat and threatening to kill him unless he handed over his cash.
