Killer who used machete on man during fight avoids jail

A CONVICTED killer turned community worker who attacked a man with a machete while out on licence for manslaughter has avoided being sent back to jail.

Glen Harwood (41), who served a sentence for stabbing his friend James Laverty to death during a drunken argument in April 2005, appeared in court yesterday on a wounding charge.

Belfast Crown Court heard that after visiting a man in his Duncairn Community Partnership role a fight broke out, resulting in Harwood striking the other man with a Lidl bag containing a machete.

Harwood, from Clara Way in Belfast, was handed a sentence of two years and six months by Judge Geoffrey Miller QC, who suspended the sentence for three years.

Prior to passing sentence, Judge Miller was informed that

Charge: Glen Harwood the injured party did not co-operate with the police and refused to come to court which “leaves us with no means by which to assess the impact on him”.

Prosecuting barrister Robin Steer said that on May 2 last year, Harwood called at the other man’s house in north Belfast to discuss a “recent incident” involving a female they both knew.

A fight started by the injured party broke out, and during the struggle, Harwood reached for the plastic bag which contained the knife and struck the other man with it.

The court heard the injured man attended the Mater Hospital A&E where he was treated for a slash wound to his knee and other lacerations.

Police later recovered the Lidl bag and the blood-stained machete from Harwood’s home.

Mr Steer said it was accepted by the Crown that Harwood initially acted in self-defence, but by using the weapon he went “above and beyond what was reasonable to defend himself ”.

Harwood eventually admitted a charge of wounding.

At the time, Harwood was out on licence for killing his friend in east Belfast in 2005.

The judge said he accepted Harwood had the weapon as he was under threat at the time, but said: “This is not a justification for having such a potentially deadly weapon on his person, then using it.”