Darlington man jailed for stab attack (From The Northern Echo)
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Darlington man jailed for stab attack
5:19pm Thursday 31st January 2013 in News
By Stuart Arnold
A MAN who fell out with an acquaintance stabbed him a number of times after the pair brawled in a pre-arranged fight.
Teesside Crown Court heard how there was “bad feeling” between James Munro and the complainant, Brandon Coward, as a result of exchanges on the social networking website Facebook.
On October 13 last year - after they had met in the street - Munro went to Mr Coward's home in Darlington and the pair proceeded to fight on a nearby grassed area.
Munro ran towards the victim with a knife and clenching it in his hand struck him in the arm, elbow, shoulder and back, leaving several puncture wounds.
Mr Coward, who feared he would be stabbed in the neck, managed to hold Munro down until the complainant's father intervened, putting Munro in a headlock.
Munro, 21, of Sorrell Close, Darlington, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and possession of an offensive weapon.
He had previously been given a suspended jail sentence for biting a man's ear.
His barrister Ian West said: “When James Munro has a drink he is a different person.
“It was a mistake, which he has acknowledged, to take a knife to the fight and it is fortunate that the injuries caused were as minor as they were.”
Judge Peter Armstrong said there was a different side to Munro's character as positive references from friends and neighbours indicated.
However he said sorting out differences in the way he had could not be tolerated. He also pointed out that the fact Munro was still serving the terms of a suspended sentence was an aggravating feature.
The judge jailed Munro for 16 months and said he would serve half of that before being released on licence.
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