Woy Woy: Stabber Baylee Carter converts to Islam in custody, court hears

A man who brazenly stabbed another man in the street over “bad blood” has converted to Islam while in custody and said he will be too busy praying to commit further offences, a court has heard.

A teenager was on parole for reckless wounding when he brazenly stabbed another man in the street who he had “bad blood” with and believed had approached him “aggressively”, a court has heard.

Appearing via video link Baylee Carter faced Gosford District Court on Friday where he gave evidence after pleading guilty to recklessly stabbing a man and two counts of possessing a prohibited drug.

The 20-year-old from Umina Beach told the court he had converted to Islam while in custody and “it’s been life-changing”.

Carter said he “felt sick” about stabbing a man in the middle of a Woy Woy street and that his new-found “strict religion” meant he would be too busy praying to commit further offences.

Carter faced Gosford District Court on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

He told the court he had been drug free for the past five months, despite having spent the past 12 months in custody, and that he did not really consider “quite a few” reprimands he had received in jail as a continuation of his offending.

The court heard Carter had been released on parole on May 11 last year after serving time for an offence of reckless wounding and had “bad blood” with another man who he had known for about five years.

An agreed set of facts states the man warned Carter to stay away from his younger brother in a message via Facebook but the pair hadn’t seen each other for about two months.

The man messaged Carter’s then girlfriend about buying valium from her and approached her car parked in Alpha Rd, Woy Woy, shortly before 5pm on September 19 last year.

Carter stabbed the man in Alpha Rd, Woy Woy, on September 19, 2021. Picture: Google

The court heard the man approached the side door, where he did not see Carter seated in the passenger seat and Carter took it as being “aggressive”.

He jumped out of the car and the pair exchanged words before Carter “pulled an object from the front of his pants” which appeared to be a flick knife and stabbed the victim “in the lower left flank of his back”.

“As the victim was running he saw blood leaking down from the side of his body,” the facts state.

The man ran up a driveway and knocked on a door calling for help before turning back to Carter and said “f..k off you bitch”.

“What you’re going to stab me again,” the victim asked Carter.

“I’m f..king pissing out blood.”

The man was treated at the scene before being taken to John Hunter Hospital. (File image)

Carter walked back to the car and the man collapsed on the ground vomiting, sweating and pale.

The victim was flown to John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Carter was arrested a short time later having thrown a bottle of Diazepam tablets onto a nearby roof as he fled.

He was also found to be in possession of 1.5g of cocaine.

Carter was sentenced to two years jail with a non-parole period of one year and three months.