A man stabbed his neighbour with a carving knife over a noise dispute, a court heard.
Thomas Davies, 35, of no fixed abode, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm. He was found not guilty after trial of one count of wounding.
Gerald Baxter, prosecuting, detailed that on October 21, 2021, Gavin Gannon, had been in Liverpool City Centre with Beverly Morris and her daughter. Mr Baxter said: “After arriving back at her flat on Marmion Road in Aigburth at around 10pm, there was a neighbour dispute because of noise.
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“However when Mr Gannon went outside he was faced with the defendant who had a carving knife, and he used that knife to stab Mr Gannon. “He sustained a punctured diaphragm and a collapsed lung and required emergency surgery.”
A victim personal statement written by Mr Gannon was read to the court by the prosecution. It read: “Suffering the stab wound was a very traumatic experience.
“I have scars across my chest and abdomen that will forever remind me of this incident. “The defendant used a knife in a public place, to cause significant injuries following what can only be described as a minor disagreement over noise.
“The public deserves to be protected from him and his propensity for violence.” Mr Gannon detailed that the attack affected his sleep and the injuries sustained meant he had to refuse a job offer.
Davies has five previous convictions for seven offences including one for possession of a bladed article when he was a youth. Kenneth Heckle, defending, accepted that the probation service found Davies to be a medium risk of causing serious harm to the public, and argued though work needs to be done to lower his risk, he is at the lower end of the spectrum.
He said: “I would submit that his record gives no concern in that respect because as an adult he has never crossed the community threshold, never mind a custody threshold.
“He has been in custody for five months, since October 22, and he makes no complaint about that, he has made good use of that time, he has been mentoring other prisoners and trying to work.
“What this defendant is more concerned about is the children. Mr Heckle continued: “He was very apologetic for what he did and he stands by that, he regrets that he put himself in that position and acted so seriously and stupidly that has caused him to be separated from his family.”
At this point, Recorder Ian Harris interjected: “I am not sure stupid is the adjective to use for somebody who stabbed someone.” Mr Heckle responded that it was a very serious incident, but that he meant the defendant acted “stupidly to engage in this way”.
He continued: “It appears that the women at the two addresses were having difficulties and the two men got involved.” In sentencing, Recorder Harris said: “There was an argument about noise, and you, for reasons that were never made clear at the trial, had a knife in your hand when you left the flat.
“People do not forget they have knives in their hands. “You took the knife downstairs and stabbed him in the lower left chest area in temper.”
Recorder Harris detailed that the victim initially thought he had been punched so went inside but because the wound bled, went to hospital where he was treated and remained for some days. He continued: “People who take knives from their home as you did and stab other people can only expect a prison sentence in the absence of exceptional circumstances, and there are none in this case.”
Davies was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment and a restraining order barring the defendant from contacting the victim was implemented for five years.
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