‘I still see his face’: Josh Beattie jailed for stabbing defenceless disability pensioner on city street
A violent criminal was on bail when he stabbed a defenceless disability pensioner on a crowded city street but what the callous attacker did next brought the ire of a judge. WATCH THE SHOCKING VIDEO
Leader
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An ice-addled criminal who stabbed a disability pensioner in the face during an unprovoked attack in Melbourne’s CBD was on bail at the time.
Josh Beattie, 30, was sentenced in the County Court on Monday to a minimum five years after pleading guilty to recklessly causing serious injury.
Beattie’s “swift and brutal” attack came after he asked his victim, Matthew Wilson, for a cigarette just before 9.30pm on November 2, 2018.
Beattie sat next to Mr Wilson in the door of a Bourke St business but soon became agitated.
He stabbed Mr Wilson in the neck and stole his pension money, which was in his hat.
Beattie fled but returned, finished his cigarette and taunted Mr Wilson who was struggling in the doorway with massive blood loss.
Mr Wilson tried to get help from the many passer-by’s but eventually ran to a cafe after no one in the busy street came to his aide.
He was taken to hospital for emergency surgery.
Mr Wilson told police he was in “constant pain” after the attack.
“I can’t sleep at night because I have visions of (Beattie’s) face and him attacking, this is happening constantly, even closing my eyes during the day I still see his face,” he said.
“I have been held up at gun point and didn’t feel as bad as this.
“I have suicidal thoughts because of what’s happened to me, I don’t know why I was attacked, I did nothing to provoke the attack.”
Beattie, on bail at the time of the attack, was arrested on November 7 for an unrelated violent robbery near the North Richmond safe injecting room on October 7.
Judge Mark Gamble said Beattie’s early guilty plea demonstrated “limited remorse”.
“His conduct towards the victim after he had stabbed him was callous and revealed not a scintilla of regret or compassion,” Judge Gamble said.
“The offence was wholly unprovoked, brazen, vicious and cowardly.”
Beattie’s “long criminal history” including various violence, weapons and threatening offending was highlighted by Judge Gamble.
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He said Beattie, who had been sentenced 77 times and jailed seven times, had been treated “leniently” on occasion.
Beattie was sentenced to a maximum seven years’ prison with a non-parole period of five years.
He had spent 18 days in custody at the time of sentencing.