A SERIAL offender who stabbed a man, causing a potentially life-threatening injury, has been jailed for three years and four months.
Selkirk Sheriff Court heard on Monday how Alexander Kenmuir went out armed with a knife.
After a man told him he wasn’t welcome at a house in Galashiels, and repeatedly asked him to leave, Kenmuir stabbed him in the neck.
The victim was rushed to Borders General Hospital, before being transferred to St John’s Hospital in Livingston for surgery.
Kenmuir, 39, of Tulley Court, Galashiels, appeared from custody on indictment and admitted assaulting a man to his severe injury and danger of life on December 18.
Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said Kenmuir went to the house for a drink at about 10pm, but was told he was not welcome there, adding: “He ignored that and was again asked to leave.”
The fiscal said Kenmuir took a knife from his pocket and stabbed the man once before leaving.
The knife was described by witnesses as a “butter knife”, but Mr Fraser said a standard butter knife could not have inflicted the injury caused and must have been sharper.
The victim felt faint and could feel blood and air from a puncture wound on his neck. An ambulance was called and pressure put on his neck with a cloth.
The victim wouldn’t say what had happened, but two others gave an account and identified the accused as the culprit. Doctors found a deep wound, which had connected with his airway. A surgeon stitched the wound and the victim was kept overnight for observation, then transferred to St John’s Hospital for specialist treatment.
The fiscal continued: “The stitches were removed and the wound explored, and they were able to see that a puncture had been made to part of the pharynx at the side of the voice box. The pharynx had to be stitched and careful medical work carried out before a wound drain and feeding tube were inserted.”
Mr Fraser said the man was kept in hospital until December 21.
He added: “Doctors say that the wound would have been life-threatening had he not received treatment. There could have been some leakage into the throat and possible septicemia.
“It was more down to luck that no major vessels were cut and, apart from a scar – due to the skill of the surgeons – there should be no impairment.”
At Kenmuir’s home, police found blood smeared on a door handle. A blood-stained jumper and T-shirt were removed from a washing machine and clothes basket respectively. He was taken to Galashiels police station before being transferred to Hawick where he gave a “no-comment” interview.
“He said, off the cuff, that he was going to jail for a long time and that it was supposed to be a square go, but it didn’t go that way,” Mr Fraser told the hearing.
Kenmuir’s lawyer, Ross Dow, said: “It was a known drug dealer’s house and he didn’t go round with the intention of using the weapon, but anticipated there may be an argument.”
The solicitor said the victim had been drinking Buckfast and shouted at his client, “What the f**k are you saying, you daftie”, before flicking a lit cigarette butt which hit Kenmuir’s eye.
Mr Dow added: “His immediate response was to pull out the knife. It was clearly a reckless act and he was very fortunate that the injury was not significantly worse. He does have a lengthy record, but his rate of offending has been decreasing.”
Sheriff Kevin Drummond told Kenmuir: “At the age of 39, from 1990 to today, you have appeared before the courts on 54 separate occasions for a variety of offences, including six of assault. You were sentenced to three years at the High Court for assault and robbery.
“No one in the community can be in any doubt of the seriousness in which the carrying of knives is dealt with by the courts. When that knife is carried and used deliberately, the consequences are a matter of luck.
“Having regard to your extensive criminal record, including crimes of violence, I take as a starting point a period of four years imprisonment, reduced to three years and four months in light of the early plea.”
The prison term was backdated to December 20.