A man was stabbed with a machete in the middle of a busy town centre in a vicious attack which left him needing surgery and stitches.
Joshua Jones' victim Luke Phillips was out shopping with his family in Cwmbran last year when he was slashed in the leg with a large knife in front of several onlookers, sustaining blood loss and injuries which required surgery and stitches.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday heard Jones, of Maesglas Crescent, Newport, was out on licence from a previous conviction for his part in a 2018 incident which saw him and another man attack a motorist by spraying ammonia in in his face and stabbing him when he carried out last year's attack.
Emma Harris, prosecuting, said the assault took place on the afternoon of November 10, 2021. At around 2.30pm that day Mr Phillips had been out shopping in Cwmbran town centre with a number of family members including his mother and two of his sisters. They had visited several shops, including Primark, when they saw Jones, 28, with a man someone in Mr Phillips' group identified only as 'Ryan'.
There "appeared to be an issue between the defendant and Ryan with the defendant asking for a lighter and accusing Ryan of grassing him up."
The court heard Mr Phillips and his family walked around the corner of the shopping centre before Jones "got a knife which he described as 'like a machete'" from his black rucksack and struck Mr Phillips in the leg, drawing blood and causing him to fall to the floor.
Jones, whom the prosecution said Mr Phillips said he was "aware of in the area", then left and Mr Phillips attended the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran. He was treated for a 7cm by 4cm cut on his left leg and needed an operation and "layers of stitches." He was discharged on the same day as the operation took place.
The victim declined to give an impact statement but the prosecution added that the incident had "clearly [been] a very frightening incident" for him.
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Jones received a phone call from Gwent Police following the attack and despite telling them he would hand himself in at the station he did not do so. He was later arrested and charged with wounding with intent, possession of a bladed article, and unlawful wounding. He pleaded guilty to the first two offences at a trial preparation hearing and was therefore not required to enter a plea for the third lesser offence.
Judge Neil Bidder QC said Jones had a number of previous convictions, the most recent of which involved being sentenced to five years and four months' imprisonment when he and his brother Luke Jones carried out a brutal attack by stabbing a motorcyclist and spraying ammonia in his face in May 2018. Jones was out on licence from this conviction when the attack on Mr Phillips took place, the judge said.
Stephen Thomas, for Jones, said a psychological report had shown the defendant had been suffering from mental health issues at the time of the incident. He said this was not an attempt to justify the attack but added that "there was no planning or premeditation" and that his client "did not set out to carry out the offence" that day.
He acknowledged that witnesses had said the victim "was followed by the defendant and his friend around the corner" and stabbed but that he was "not in a group" and that the attack was delivered by a single blow rather than being a "persistent assault". He added that Jones had pleaded guilty and "fully understands" the severity of the offence.
Judge Bidder said it was his view that the victim's injuries were serious and that he "would have died of blood loss" if the injury had not been treated. He said Mr Phillips had been left with permanent scarring and had suffered psychological effects from the attack and that the fact it had been carried out in "broad daylight" in front of members of the public was a "significant aggravating factor" as well as Jones' previous convictions.
With a discount for his guilty plea Jones was given a 10-year sentence comprising six years in custody and a licence period of another four years. He must serve at least two-thirds of that six-year custody period before being considered for release and will serve any remaining time on licence before that four-year licence period starts. He was also handed an 18-month sentence for having a bladed article, which will be served concurrently. He must also pay a £190 victim surcharge to be paid within 12 months of his release.
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