A man who stabbed his nephew in the chest with a kitchen knife has been jailed.
Arthur James Hanson (35) appeared at Antrim Crown Court where Judge Alistair Devlin handed him a five-year sentence.
The judge said Hanson’s release will be a matter for the parole commissioners rather than subject to remission and when he is freed, he will be subject to an extra two years of supervised licence conditions.
Originally charged with trying to kill his nephew, Hanson, from Marks Street in Portrush, pleaded guilty on the morning his trial was due to start to wounding him with intent to cause GBH.
Prosecuting counsel Suzanne Gallagher outlined to the court how police first received a number of 999 calls “that a man had been stabbed on Glenarm Avenue” in Portrush with one caller naming “Arty Hanson” as the assailant.
Initially, the victim did not realise he had been stabbed but it transpired he had sustained a wound which punctured his right lung and doctors had to insert a chest drain at A&E before he underwent surgery.
Defence counsel Dean Mooney submitted it was clear from the various reports that Hanson, despite his difficulties, “has made significant strides” within the prison regime.
Sentencing Hanson, Judge Devlin said it was clear the defendant now accepted bringing the knife from his home where he had been drinking and taking cocaine, adding that the use of the knife, “not simply a weapon but a weapon capable of inflicting catastrophic and indeed fatal injuries,” is an aggravating factor.