Homeless pair’s row turned nasty
ROUGH SLEEPERS’ ROW TURNED VIOLENT
A VIOLENT thug stabbed a homeless man in the neck in a row over begging territory.
Carl Murtha, 31, was jailed for more than six years at Leeds Crown Court for the attack, which took place on Grainger Street in Newcastle city centre.
Murtha and his 33-year-old victim were both sleeping rough in the city and were well known to each other.
On the evening of February 22 this year, they got into an argument when Murtha complained the man was encroaching on his patch.
The argument turned physical and both men swung punches at each other before grappling on the ground.
It was at this point that Murtha grabbed a broken bottle that was lying on the ground and used it to stab his victim in the back of the neck.
The attack left the man with blood pouring from a six-inch-deep wound which needed emergency surgery.
He has now recovered from the attack, which he feared might kill him.
Murtha, of no fixed abode, was charged with possession of an offensive weapon and wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm.
He pleaded guilty to the charges at Newcastle Crown Court in July, but now he has been jailed for six years and 10 months at Leeds Crown Court.
In a victim impact statement, his victim had previously said: “This scared me as I genuinely believed I was going to bleed to death.
“I’m upset and annoyed that this happened when I was trying to help him.”
Investigating officer Detective Constable Emma Beadle, of Northumbria Police’s Central CID, said: “This started as a petty row over money between two men who were sleeping rough in the city centre and begging on a busy Friday night.
“They were involved in a number of arguments that evening before their row eventually turned into a physical fight.
“It has taken place in front of shocked onlookers who would have been left scared and intimidated by what was going on.
“Carl Murtha has then turned a petty scrap into an assault that could have cost his victim his life and left him badly scarred.
“He is just grateful to be alive but I hope he can take some comfort from knowing that his attacker will spend a considerable time behind bars.”