Pensioner stabbed Wakefield neighbour in the stomach during petty boundary dispute
A pensioner stabbed his neighbour during a scuffle after claiming a piece of turf that had been laid was encroaching his garden.
The confrontation broke out on Moorland Drive in the Hall Green area of Wakefield before a multi-tool knife was plunged into the abdomen of the victim.
Khosro Amiressami was given a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court after being held on remand since his arrest last summer.
He appeared in court on the video link from HMP Leeds, having already admitted to Section 20 GBH.
The court heard that 70-year-old Amiressami had been in his garden at around 4pm on June 1 last year, while his neighbour was in his own garden.
Words were exchanged, and Amiressami became aggressive and was carrying the multi-tool in his hand.
He began fiddling with the device and pulled out the 7cm blade. He then climbed into the man’s garden and lunged at him.
A scuffle ensued before Amiressami said he would call the police, while the neighbour went inside.
He then realised he was bleeding heavily from his abdomen. His wife tried to stem the flow and 999 was called.
He was taken to Pinderfields where the 3cm-long cut was only found to be “superficial”.
The police later found blood on the blade of the knife that matched the neighbour.
Amiressami was arrested and gave a prepared statement during his interview. He answered some questions, denied having the knife and claimed that he was defending himself.
The court heard the argument broke out after Amiressami wrongly accused the man of laying a piece of turf that had encroached his boundary.
Amiressami continued to deny any wrongdoing and the matter was brought to trial, but he entered a guilty plea to Section 20 GBH without intent after the trial had started, which was accepted by the Crown.
The court heard that Amiressami had previous issues with other neighbours with one woman claiming he had threatened to stab her.
Mitigating, Paul Addison said Amiressami has conceded that he needs to sell up and move away from his home.
He said it was a “trivial boundary argument” and added: “He wants to apologise to the victim for what he did. It was excessive and wholly disproportionate.”
Judge Kate Rayfield gave him a 20-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months, with 20 rehabilitation days to complete.
She also passed a restraining order of indefinite length to keep him away from his neighbour.