A North Belfast man who stabbed his sister’s boyfriend with a potato peeler was today (Tuesday) jailed for a year.
Joseph Anthony Foster was told by Judge Philip Gilpin that he will spend a further year on supervised licence on his release from custody to deal with his alcohol and drug addiction issues.
Foster, 37, from Ardoyne’s Velsheda Court, previously pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court to charges of wounding, criminal damage and common assault.
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Prosecution barrister Philip Henry said the defendant’s sister Patricia Foster and her partner Liam Davey arrived home around 2am on Sunday, June 6, 2021.
He told Judge Gilpin that police subsequently received a report of a stabbing incident outside the Velsheda Court family home.
“On arrival in the street, officers observed the defendant in the street and he appeared to be speaking to himself,” said Mr Henry.
“He told police that he had ‘stabbed him with a car key’. Patrica Foster told police that her brother was unhappy with her boyfriend Mr Davey and he had slashed the tyres on her car with a potato peeler.
“When Mr Davey confronted him, there was an argument and this defendant stabbed Mr Davey with the potato peeler.”
The court heard the stabbing victim was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was treated for three stab wounds. The prosecution said Mr Davey was later released from hospital but was subsequently re-admitted because of an infection he had developed.
Photographs of the scene showed blood on the ground in the front garden and the four deflated tyres. Ms Foster called for police and an ambulance and Mr Davey went to the top of the street to wait for assistance.
In victim impact statements, Mr Davey said the stabbing had affected him “physically, emotionally and socially” along with ongoing pain and scarring.
Ms Foster said the stabbing had had “multiple impacts on her” including emotional and financial. She added that after the incident she “felt scared, was down and depressed”.
Defence barrister John O’Connor said Foster had 17 previous convictions for driving offences but none for violence.
“At the time of the offending he was addicted to alcohol and had been out on a three day binge,” said Mr O’Connor.
“This was a spur of the moment incident and the alcohol intoxication feeds into that. He accepts this incident has caused a very strained relationship in the family.
“It will take a lot of time to re-establish and reconnect the family relationship. It is a sad situation and he has indicated he wishes he could turn back time. It is almost like a bad dream to him.”
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