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Thug jailed after he ‘chased, cornered and stabbed’ man outside primary school
A violent thug has been jailed for six years after he ‘chased, cornered and stabbed’ a man in the head outside a primary school.
Joshua Walker, 26, encountered a man he was feuding with outside the school in Hartlepool, on May 12, 2022, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Walker claimed in court that it was the other man who had “instigated the clash.” However, judge Paul Watson KC said that Walker then “chased, cornered and stabbed” the man outside Stranton Primary School, reports Teeside Live.
CCTV footage showed Walker’s girlfriend Bethany Howard, 30, “egging him on” and the court was told that she supplied the knife used in the attack. The victim was stabbed in the temple, leaving him with a gash.
The court was told that he “failed to engage” with investigators and therefore were no more details on hospital treatment or what impact the attack had on his life. Walker, denied wounding with intent, but he was convicted by a jury, after a trial.
He admitted the possession of a knife and the court heard that he has previous convictions involving knife crime and another offence where he attacked a man with a hammer.
Howard, denied wounding with intent, and the possession of a knife, but she was also convicted at the trial. She has a previous conviction for robbery, and was sentenced to six-years in prison in 2018.
Shaun Dryden, representing Howard, said that she is “thriving” in prison “because she now has structure. She has engaged with the prison drug team and mental health support.”
He continued by saying that his client has had a “chaotic” upbringing and a “dysfunctional lifestyle” but had now stopped taking methadone.
Uzma Khan, for Walker, told the court that her client had been suffering from a number of mental health issues at the time of the attack and had endured a “difficult” life.
Judge Paul Watson KC said when jailing Walker for six-years with a three-year extended licence term, that it was “only good fortune” that the knife had “struck and gashed” the victim’s temple, and hadn’t caused more serious damage.
“You had the chance to walk away but you didn’t. You have a record which shows that you routinely arm yourself with knives. You are an unpredictable individual sometimes.”
Walker will serve two-thirds of his six year sentence, before he is eligible to be considered for release. He will then be on licence in the community, for the remainder of the sentence and the additional three-years.
Howard was handed a two-year-three-month prison term. Walker shouted “I love you Beth,” as the couple started their sentences.
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