Ardoyne man who stabbed brother and sister in drink and drug-fuelled incident jailed for 14 months

A man who stabbed a brother and sister during an incident in north Belfast has been jailed for 14 months. Kevin Cassidy went on trial last month accused of wounding, wounding with intent and possessing a kitchen knife in a public place on July 6, 2019. The 26-year-old initially denied all the charges. However, after the jury was sworn in and the facts outlined at Belfast Crown Court, he was re-arraigned and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of wounding and possessing a bladed weapon in a public place, which the Crown accepted. Prosecutor James Johnston said that on the night in question, the injured parties and a friend were walking along Ardoyne Walk when their attention was drawn to a fight. They saw Cassidy carrying a knife, running around with his top off and "getting physical with other people". The defendant was with a woman who approached the trio and started shouting at them. After they told her to go away, Cassidy approached them and a scuffle broke out. The defendant then ran into his house on Ardoyne Walk, followed by one of the group who saw a knife in his hand. Mr Johnston said that after a punch was thrown at Cassidy, the two men "ended up on the sofa". He told the court his client got on top of the other man and started "swinging his knife in a slashing motion", inflicting a number of wounds. When the man’s sister arrived in the house and saw what was happening, "natural instinct kicked in" and she "jumped on her brother to try and protect him from this attack". She suffered a cut to her hand and her brother slash wounds to his head, neck, back and arms. Cassidy fled the scene but was arrested a short time later. He denied he had a knife and denied wounding the brother and sister, instead claimed that after being punched by the other man, he acted in self-defence and "slapped him back" but that was it. Passing sentence, Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said police recovered a knife with Cassidy’s DNA on it from the scene. Among the aggravating features noted was that the defendant had armed himself with a blade while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Probation officers assessed the defendant as posing "high likelihood of reoffending’’ but did not believe he posed a danger to the public. Judge Miller told Cassidy, who appeared in court via videolink from prison, he would spend a further 14 months on supervised licence after being released.