A homeless man was slashed with a knife outside a Tesco store by another rough sleeper after an argument erupted about a stolen "pitch".
Thomas Barton repeatedly stabbed his victim Robert Jones in front of shocked shoppers, having apparently moved in on his usual spot in the car park outside. He has been left with permanent injuries as a result of the vicious and "potentially deadly" attack.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Monday, that Mr Jones had been living homeless on the streets of Crosby "for a few years" at the time of the incident on November 20 2021. He had a "pitch where he normally spent his days" in the car park of the Tesco Express store on Coronation Road, but at around 8pm on the evening in question found the defendant sat in this spot drinking.
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Ben Berkson, prosecuting, described how Barton would usually be situated outside the nearby Sainsbury's supermarket, and a dispute between the two arose over "who the pitch belonged to". The attacker then reached into a plastic bag and "threatened to stab him up".
The 46-year-old, of Hawthorne Road in Bootle, then "put him in a bear hug" and began jabbing at him with the handle of a retractable knife. Mr Jones managed to push Barton away, but he then produced the blade of the weapon and began slashing at him as customers watched on in horror.
The complainant put his hands out in order to protect himself from these blows and sustained "deep" gashes, as well as knife wounds to his ear and legs. His assailant walked away following the incident, which was caught on CCTV, but was arrested in bloodstained clothing around 45 minutes later.
Barton, who was noted to have injuries to his face, told the police that he had "merely had a fight with Mr Jones and no knife had been used". The dad also "remonstrated" with officers, telling them to "f*** off".
The weapon was never recovered. Mr Jones required 12 stitches and will "never regain the full use" of the thumb on his right hand, while he may still need to undergo surgery.
Barton has a total of 75 previous convictions for 116 offences, although they are "mostly for shoplifting and unrelated minor offences". Mark Phillips, defending, told the court: "The defendant cannot remember what happened during the incident, and he accepts that this is because he had been drinking.
"I would suggest this is out of character. He is ashamed and very sorry for what he has done. He has an horrendous record, but not for violence. His life can be described as a sad one, more of an existence.
"At the age of 13, he started using alcohol and that has been his downfall ever since. He is not someone who habitually carries knives."
Barton admitted wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for six years and handed an extended two-year licence period.
Sentencing, Recorder Graham Wells said: "The facts of the matter are pretty worrying. This was really an unprovoked and potentially deadly attack.
"This was at night in a public place outside a Tesco store where people would be coming and going. People were alarmed by what you were doing.
"This was a savage attack, fuelled by alcohol."
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