Oct 18 - Man Jailed For Stabbing Childhood Friend
A 31-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison today for stabbing a childhood friend in the chest with a three-inch lock knife following a heated argument.
John Paul Pereira, of Tower House, Moorish Castle Estate, appeared at the Supreme Court this morning for sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of wounding with intent and one count of possession of a bladed article.
The case dates back to Saturday 2nd July of this year, when Pereira was having a nap in his mum’s house and the victim walked in and woke him up by saying, “¿Qué pasa, gordo? / What’s up, fatty?”
Pereira claimed he woke up in a bad mood but could not remember what was said. During his police interview, he said: “I know I stabbed [the victim] but I don’t know why.”
Prosecutor Carl Ramagge said the defendant took offence at the comment and an argument ensued, resulting in the defendant’s mum and her boyfriend asking the victim to leave the house.
A couple of minutes later, the defendant followed the victim by climbing down the scaffolding from his bedroom window. Pereira approached the victim, lunging at him with a knife, aiming for the victim’s hip and then his chest.
An off-duty policeman intervened and helped the victim who was bleeding profusely while telling Pereira to keep calm.
An ambulance attended and the victim was taken to hospital. He suffered from an inch-wide and one and a half inch deep wound, needing three external and three internal sutures.
Pereira was arrested and questioned over the incident and said he couldn’t remember what happened. He was remanded in custody and admitted his actions.
Pereira’s lawyer Jeevan Daswani said his client has shown remorse and is willing to engage in further counselling.
While sentencing, Puisne Judge Karen Ramagge Prescott said this was an injury which involved a wound and required surgery, and the victim was fortunate that the attack had only resulted in soft tissue damage.
She said there was an element of pre-meditation, adding that although the defendant was told to calm down, he jumped out of the window and that had exacerbated the situation. She added that the defendant was a habitual cannabis user since the age of 13, and that has lead to a borderline personality disorder. She also said that there was a high risk of Pereira re-offending.
Mrs Justice Ramagge Prescott suggested that the defendant take part in a clinical treatment available in prison, and took note of his willingness to take part in this and that he has been studying for his GCSEs while in custody.
She took time served into consideration, and sentenced Pereira to six years in prison for wounding with intent, reduced to four years for entering an early guilty plea, and no separate penalty for the count of possession of a bladed article.
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