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A Catalina man who stabbed a man six times during an altercation in a Batemans Bay park last December will spend a minimum of 18 months behind bars.
Tyran Leslie Hood, 22, of Gull Close, was charged with reckless wounding and custody of a knife in a public place, following the incident at Albert Ryan Park on December 28, 2016.
Police said the victim suffered six stabs wounds to his abdomen and thigh and was taken to Canberra Hospital for surgery after Hood pulled out a pocket knife.
The victim did not know he had been stabbed until he spotted a knife in Hood’s hand and his friend noticed he was bleeding heavily.
Defence solicitor Adam Sumbak said Hood experienced a “significant level of provocation” and was confronted by the victim in the moments before the stabbing.
Mr Sumbak said the victim placed Hood in a “very strong headlock” and shook him from side to side to the point Hood believed he was “going to lose consciousness”. It was at this point Hood produced the knife and stabbed the victim.
Police said the incident unfolded after Hood approached the victim’s friend while they were walking from the Batemans Bay Soldier’s Club and said “I’ve done six months because of you”.
The victim feared his friend was going to be assaulted and placed Hood in a headlock before letting him go a short time later.
Mr Sumbak said Hood had no memory of taking the knife from his pocket and was not wielding the knife at the time. He said Hood was using the drug ice at the time of the offence.
Police said immediately after the stabbing, Hood “put his head in his hands and said repeatedly ‘I didn’t even want you; I wasn’t even after you’”.
Hood initially pleaded not guilty to reckless wounding and denied any knowledge of stabbing the victim. However, he changed his plea to guilty in June, on the basis of amended police facts.
Magistrate Doug Dick acknowledged Hood had no intention of using the knife from the outset.
“What went from a very savage headlock turned into a stabbing … six times,” Mr Dick said in Batemans Bay Local Court on August 14.
“Your grievance was not with the victim, it was with someone else.
“Things go awry, things go wrong, and that’s what’s happened here.”
He told the court Hood’s record was littered with violent offences before handing him an aggregate sentence of three years, with 18 months non parole.
Prior to his sentencing, Hood was serving seven months for an unrelated matter.
