Dog walker nearly died in neck slash knife attack

A man who almost killed a dog walker when he slashed his throat with a knife has been jailed for six years and 10 months.

Jordan Lockyer, 39, repeatedly stabbed the victim, with whom he had "some beef", in Newcastle in September, the city's crown court heard.

Two of the man's 12 injuries were millimetres away from being fatal, with one a large gaping wound across the front of his throat, the court heard.

Lockyer, who previously threatened to slash the neck of a man over a debt, was initially charged with attempted murder but admitted intentional wounding.

The victim was walking two dogs in Jesmond when Lockyer confronted him at about 18:05 BST on 12 September, prosecutor Emma Dowling said.

Lockyer accused the man of stealing from relatives and, despite the victim's denials, pushed him against a fence and repeatedly slashed at him with a lock knife, the court heard.

The attack only ended when another person "bravely" intervened and Lockyer fled, the court heard.

Police arrived and found the victim bleeding heavily from a number of wounds, especially one to his neck and another in his armpit, Dowling said.

Officers arrested Lockyer from a social club, where he had to be Tasered after challenging police to shoot him, the court heard.

The victim refused to name his attacker or support the prosecution, but the attack was caught on a passing car's dashcam and witnessed by a neighbour who identified Lockyer at an ID parade, the court heard.

A forensic pathologist assessed the man's injuries and concluded the wounds to his neck and armpit were both "potentially life-threatening", Dowling said.

Had either been any deeper the man could "easily" have suffered "catastrophic" blood loss, the court heard.

Judge Edward Bindloss said it was a "matter of luck" the man had not been fatally injured.

He said Lockyer had a history of violence, was "willing" to carry knives and posed a high risk of serious harm to people he had an "issue" with.

Lockyer had previously threatened to slash the neck of someone who owed his drug-dealing brother money, and the 12 September attack was motivated by "some beef" he had with the victim, the judge said.

Having been deemed a "dangerous" offender, Lockyer, of no fixed abode, will also have to serve four years on extended licence upon his eventual release from prison.

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