Two in court accused of attempted murder
TWO men slashed a burglar’s throat and set fire to his flat in a botched vigilante attack, a court heard.
Anthony James, 38, and Anthony Slater, 42, deny attempting to murder Frank Cartner at an address in Columbia Grange, Kenton, on September 18, 2017.
They are accused of carrying out the alleged attack after discovering Cartner stole a fuse box from a nearby flat lived in by Beth Marsh.
It put the health of her one-year-old son at risk as he relied on electrical medical equipment and the flat was left without power, a jury heard.
At the start of James and Slater’s trial at Newcastle Crown Court, prosecutors alleged the pair became aware of the circumstances of the theft after being questioned about it.
It is alleged they took matters into their own hands, going to Cartner’s house in the early hours, stabbing him several times and then using furniture to trap him in a bedroom before setting fire to the flat.
James and Slater are charged with attempted murder, arson and attempting to pervert the course of justice. They both deny the charges.
Cartner, who is currently serving a prison sentence, was a social acquaintance of both James and Slater and had recently been loaned mobile phones by the latter.
Neither defendant had knowledge of the burglary, the court heard, but were aware Cartner had moved into a new flat that week and was trying to obtain a fuse box.
According to officer PC John Lorraine, Slater appeared “calm and serene” when he was told about what had happened and gave no indication he would seek retribution, it was said.
When the officer confronted Cartner, who had initially tried to hide, he confessed to the theft when he was told about the health of the child, saying: “I’m really sorry, I had no idea about the kid, it’s at my mam’s, tell her Frankie sent you over.”
Later that night, Mr Giuliani said, the defendants visited Ms Marsh.
Giving evidence, she claimed one of them told her through the kitchen window: “We’re the ones who gave the officer the name of a man who took your fuse box.
“I can’t believe he would do that to a little boy who needed electricity for medical purposes. We are going to f ***** g slash his throat”.
Mr Giuliani went on: “At about 3am the defendants went to Cartner’s flat who did not think anything of it because they used to stay up drinking at night. Slater was behaving as if he had never been to the flat before and was going from room to room - it was at this stage Cartner noticed Slater had a knife.
“Without warning he started stabbing at his throat, during which he accused him of stealing the mobile phone he had previously loaned him.
“James continued to search the flat and Cartner was trapped in the bedroom and could not get out.”
James then allegedly used his own knife to stab him in his chest while Cartner defended himself with a pillow, making contact at least once.
According to Cartner, jurors were told, James seemed reluctant while Slater seemed intent on killing him, allegedly repeatedly telling his co-accused to “do it properly, get it done”.
It’s then alleged the defendants piled up furniture and lit three different fires in the flat, trapping him in the bedroom with a window too small to get out of.
The trial continues.