Knife thug caged for unprovoked attack

Jun 25 2009

A HAMILTON knife thug who stabbed a dad-of-one in an unprovoked attack was this week jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Sentencing 22-year-old James McGuire at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lady Smith told him that the courts will not tolerate the culture of knife crime in Scotland.

Lady Smith said that everything possible must be done to stop the carrying and using of knives.

She told McGuire that if it had not been for his early plea of guilty he would have been jailed for five years.

McGuire, a prisoner in Addiewell, who had originally been charged with attempted murder, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of stabbing 37-year-old Anthony Lowell four times on the head and body to the danger of his life at 4 Burnhouse Road, Hamilton, on December 15, last year.

Prosecutor Neil Beardmore said: “There was no apparent reason for this. The accused produced a knife and repeatedly struck Mr Lowell with it. Neighbours, who heard an altercation, called the police.

An ambulance was called and Mr Lowell was taken to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride.

“Mr Lowell will be scarred as a result of this assault,” said Mr Beardmore.

“The main injury was a stab wound to his chest, which caused him to lose about 1.5 litres of blood and also caused his left lung to collapse.”

Initially, McGuire claimed he was elsewhere when the attack took place but DNA analysis of clothing proved that he had been involved.

The court heard that McGuire had previous convictions for minor drug offences and breaches of the peace, and four years ago was caged for offensive weapon charges.