A man has admitted stabbing a 40-year old dad in the chest over a £200 debt.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how Billy McIntyre, then aged just 19, turned up at his victim’s home after midnight along with two other men to collect money and lunged at the man with a knife.
When the man and his cousin attempted the scare the group off, the father-of-one was left with a puncture wound in his chest that just missed his vital organs.
McIntyre, now 20, was described by his solicitor as a young man who “hasn’t had his moral compass fixed”.
The court heard that two men had turned up at the man’s home on Rosehill Court, Aberdeen on the evening of October 14 last year as he owed one of them £200.
He told them he was unable to pay at the time, but said he could settle the debt after midnight when his benefit money would have been paid into his account.
The two men then took the man’s front door key as “insurance” and said they would return to get the money.
Men took victim’s house keys as ‘insurance’ and vowed to return at midnight
Fiscal depute Felicity Merson told the court: “Later that night the complainer received numerous calls from one of the males about the debt.
“An argument broke out during the final call and the male said he was going to get a team together and attend at the complainer’s home.
“Due to feeling threatened, the complainer contacted his cousin who came over and once inside, in addition to locking the door, the latch was applied.”
At 12.45am the man – who had armed himself with a baseball bat – heard noises at his front door and opened it to find the two men along with McIntyre.
As his cousin chased away the two men, the man chased McIntyre along the communal hallway of the flats where the youth turned to face him before “lunging at him using a striking motion and stabbing” him.
The man wasn’t sure he’d been stabbed but then felt a “warm sensation” and looked down to see blood was coming from his chest.
McIntyre then ran off with the baseball bat after the man had dropped it.
An ambulance took the victim to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he was found to have a 3cm long incision to the left chest wall about three inches below his nipple.
‘I hope you realise how serious this is’
Defence agent Alex Burn described McIntyre as a “vulnerable” young man who “appreciated the seriousness of the situation he finds himself in”.
He added his client had experienced a “terrible childhood” and “hasn’t had his moral compass fixed by his parents”.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin said she had “seriously considered” reports into McIntyre’s background as he was “so very young”.
She told him: “I hope you realise how serious this is. You have previous convictions for carrying a knife and you went to someone’s house armed with a knife.
“This could have had a much more tragic outcome.”
Sheriff McLaughlin sentenced McIntyre, of Provost Rust Drive, Aberdeen, to 12-months detention.
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