David Sukkar, 20, pleads guilty to reckless wounding after Stanmore stabbing

A night out in Sydney with mates turned into a nightmare for a young man when a teenager from Sydney’s inner east reached into a car and stabbed him in the chest. Here’s what happened in court.

David Sukkar leaves Downing Centre Local Court.

A teenager reached into a car in Sydney’s inner west and stabbed a complete stranger in the chest after a brief run-in at a service station.

Centennial Park man David Sukkar, 20, faced Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to one count of reckless wounding.

Sukkar was charged over an incident from May 18 last year in Stanmore. He was 19 at the time.

According to agreed facts tendered to the court, a group of four men aged between 19 and 23 were driving home following a night out in Darling Harbour.

At around 11pm the friends pulled into a Parramatta Rd service station when they noticed Sukkar and his friend Rakan Shwany, also 19 at the time, standing near the exit staring at them.

David Sukkar pleaded guilty to one count of reckless wounding.

The group in the car noticed the men were talking to each other while continuing to stare.

While the driver paid for the fuel, Sukkar and his friend walked about 100 metres down the road until they were out of sight, agreed facts state.

A short time after leaving the station, the car pulled up to the intersection of Parramatta Rd and Cannon St, where they noticed Sukkar and his friend standing outside The Water Shop.

When the car pulled up to the kerb, a man seated in the front passenger seat wound down his window and called out to the pair, asking what their issue was.

According to the agreed facts, Sukkar responded “with a threatening comment”, and told the car to “pull in” before he walked up to the window “with his hands in his pockets”.

Sukkar was “mumbling and swearing” while Shwany remained silent.

Sukkar then put his hand into the waistband of his pants before pulling out a serrated knife with a blade around 15 – 20cm long, agreed facts state.

Sukkar thrust the knife at the man in the passenger seat, stabbing him between his “third and fourth rib”, leaving a 3cm wound.

Both Sukkar and Shawny fled the scene.

The victim meanwhile did not realise he’d had been stabbed until the offenders had left, and felt a strange sensation under his armpit.

He then said words to the effect of “they stabbed me”, with his friends providing first aid before he was taken to hospital.

On Tuesday, Sukkat’s lawyer told the court his client would submit references, and both a psychological and sentencing assessment report, prior to his sentencing.

He will remain on bail and be sentenced on August 8 at Downing Centre Local Court.

Rakan Shwany pleaded guilty to concealing a serious indictable offence and is due to be sentenced on July 30.