AN ECHUCA man has been jailed for seven years after stabbing an acquaintance he lured to his house on the pretence of a drug deal.
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Waylon Walsh Snr was sentenced in Melbourne County Court on Tuesday, March 9, after pleading guilty to intentionally causing serious injury, trafficking a drug of dependence, four counts of possessing a drug of dependence and two counts of possessing a firearm as a prohibited person.
The court heard Walsh and his partner enticed the victim — a 42-year-old man — to come to their Rose St property to buy heroin on the morning of September 15, 2019.
Judge John Smallwood said when the man walked inside, Walsh’s partner locked the front and security doors before Walsh — holding a knife in his left hand — came out of the bedroom yelling at him.
Walsh, 36, then punched the man with both fists three to four times to the face, causing him to fall to his knees.
While the victim was attempting to get up, he threw Walsh onto a couch and held him face down.
‘‘He held you face down as you still had the knife in your left hand which you then swung back and cut his hand,’’ Judge Smallwood said.
‘‘He punched you in the back of the head and tried to disarm you and that’s when the stabbing motion took place.”
Walsh made several backwards stabbing motions, cutting the man’s right hand, mouth, nose and cheekbones.
The victim then pulled Walsh by his collar onto the ground and stomped on his head before trying to leave.
As the victim was nearing the front yard, Walsh lunged towards him and stabbed him in the right armpit and across the chest.
The man tried to stop the bleeding with his jumper and was helped by a witness who called 000.
The court heard Walsh dropped the victim at the Echuca hospital before driving away.
The man suffered a serious stab wound to the chest, as well as tendon damage to his hand, fractures to his fingers, ankle and cheekbones and wounds to his scalp and face.
‘‘He suffered a cardiac arrest in the emergency department and life support was used and chest compressions administered,’’ he said.
He was intubated before undergoing surgery and was then transferred to the Alfred hospital for further surgery.
Police arrived at the Echuca property about 8.15am where Walsh, who was covered in blood spatter, was arrested.
A search of the property found a hunting knife, a package containing 3.6g of heroin, methamphetamine, prescription medication, shotgun shells under the bed and a significant amount of money.
During a second search on January 9 last year, police found and seized a sawn-off shotgun and a rifle in the roof cavity.
Judge Smallwood said while Walsh was in custody, his partner told him ‘‘you were only supposed to tap him up, f***ing jab him in front of me, you dog’’ to which Walsh replied ‘‘I know. I got f***ing wild with him when he went in the lounge room’’.
‘‘It certainly means he was lured there on the intention of being assaulted,’’ he said.
‘‘You had no right to use the knife and the injuries you caused were indeed serious.
‘‘There’s no option here but jail.’’
Judge John Smallwood said while Walsh had a significant criminal history, including convictions for violence, drugs and dishonesty, he had expressed appropriate remorse by pleading guilty.
However, having read the victim impact statement, he said the consequences for the victim were serious and ongoing.
He also took into account the indigenous father-of-five had limited schooling as a result of a disruptive family life that involved domestic violence, and had an acquired brain injury due to a serious car accident in 2007.
‘‘The prospect of rehabilitation is relatively bleak,’’ Judge Smallwood said.
‘‘It’s really up to you. You can stop using drugs and get your act together.’’
Walsh was sentenced to a total effective sentence of seven years, with a non-parole period of four-and-a-half years.
He has already served 541 days in custody.
Had it not been for his guilty plea, Judge Smallwood would have jailed Walsh for 11 years.
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