Ex-soldier’s screwdriver attack on homeless man
47-YEAR-OLD REPEATEDLY STABBED HIS TERRIFIED VICTIM
A VIOLENT ex-soldier repeatedly stabbed a homeless man with a long-bladed screwdriver, causing him serious injuries, including a fractured eye socket and a badly damaged eye.
The terrified victim feared for his life after he was viciously attacked by the former soldier and another man after a drunken argument inside a house, Hull Crown Court heard.
Paul Tansey, 47, of Hampshire Street, off Hessle Road, west Hull, admitted wounding the man with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on January 23.
Christopher Dunn, prosecuting, said the homeless man had been drinking and had been to KFC in Beverley Road, Hull, at around noon. Another man, who was still wanted by the police, sat with him on a bench and offered to let the homeless man stay at his home.
The homeless man later went to the house, via an off-licence, where he bought cans of beer. He also bought fish and chips.
At the house, the man met Tansey, who was also living there. Tansey identified himself as “Scottish Jock” and spoke with a Scottish accent.
They began drinking heavily but an argument erupted and the homeless man was attacked by Tansey and the other man.
Tansey repeatedly stabbed him with a screwdriver, causing “grave” injuries, and elbowed him in the face a number of times. The second man punched and kicked the victim to the side.
“He was frightened for his life during the attack,” said Mr Dunn.
The victim left the house and walked to his brother’s home nearby. The brother telephoned for an ambulance and the victim went to Hull Royal Infirmary.
He had a fractured eye socket and a nurse believed he was lucky not to have lost that eye. He lost a tooth
You used a screwdriver. It’s a long-bladed screwdriver and you stabbed him several times with it to his face, his head and body and hands. You elbowed him in the face a number of times
Judge Mark Bury
and suffered cuts all over, including on top of his head, chest and hand, marks to his neck and bruising.
The victim, who later found a home, said: “The whole incident has turned me into a recluse. I have been scared to leave the house.”
He needed appointments with an eye specialist and his eye had been left drooping and causing problems. His vision had decreased and he had suffered deformity to an optic nerve.
Police went to the house where Tansey was living and found him there as well as the other man involved in the attack. The screwdriver was under a coffee table and had the victim’s blood on it.
“It’s a highly dangerous weapon,” said Mr Dunn.
The victim later picked out Tansey at an identity procedure. The other man involved in the attack was still at large.
Tansey had convictions for 43 previous offences, including for assaults and carrying weapons. He had been jailed for 20 months for wounding.
Julia Baggs, mitigating, said Tansey was in the army for six years and served in Northern Ireland as well as many other countries. He was discharged on medical grounds in 1999 and had since suffered problems.
He had been in a “vicious cycle” of drinking, committing crime, going to prison and returning to drinking.
He had worked as a tailor while in custody at Lincoln Prison and in the servery and as a painter and decorator in Hull Prison.
“He wants to break the pattern of offending that is so clear from his record,” said Miss Baggs. “He has reached the age where he wants to turn his life around.”
Tansey wanted to apologise to the victim. “He does know that this is deeply unpleasant offending,” said Miss Baggs.
Judge Mark Bury told Tansey: “You plainly, all of you, had a very good drink and were drunk. It’s not surprising, in the circumstances, that an argument developed. It led to quite serious violence.
“You used a screwdriver. It’s a long-bladed screwdriver and you stabbed him several times with it to his face, his head and body and hands. You elbowed him in the face a number of times. It’s effectively a knife used to stab people. Psychologically, he has been badly affected.”
Tansey was jailed for seven-anda-half years.