Young teen who stabbed friend with cheese knife escapes a term of detention

A 17-year-old Albany boy who stabbed his friend and left him needing hospital treatment has avoided juvenile detention. The teenager last Friday appeared in Albany Children’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated unlawful wounding after stabbing another teenager with a 7cm cheese knife. Police prosecutor Sergeant Dave Loverock told the court the incident happened outside the offender’s home in Little Grove about 9pm on December 8. The victim had driven to the boy’s house to speak to him about a disagreement they had earlier that day. Sgt Loverock said the offender armed himself with a knife from his kitchen and hid it in his clothing before he walked outside. The pair got into a fight in the front yard, where the 17-year-old stabbed the other boy in the legs and abdomen, then threw the knife away. He told police he had acted in “self-defence”. Defence lawyer Isobelle Smith told the court the victim had driven to the offender’s house after communicating with him on social media. “(The boy) thought his friend was bringing others of dubious nature, who were involved with drugs and possessing weapons, so he got a knife from the kitchen,” Ms Smith said. Ms Smith said her client grabbed the knife to use as a “deterrent and self-defence as he feared for his safety”. The boy claimed he had forgotten he had the knife in his hand when he threw punches. Ms Smith said her client had “lost control of his emotions” but showed remorse later that night when he went to check on the victim at Albany Health Campus. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said she did not accept the boy forgot the knife was in his hand. The offence of aggravated unlawful wounding carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment. Sgt Loverock said prosecution believed a term of detention would be an appropriate penalty. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan warned the boy that if he had committed the same offence as an 18-year-old, he would receive a prison sentence. “The only question would be if you served it in the community or not,” she said. However, she decided to place him on a six-month youth community-based order, requiring him to work with youth justice to complete counselling sessions. “You need to learn the skills to deal with these types of things in the future to manage ways that don’t involve weapons and the stabbing of people,” Ms Scaddan said.