Pokemon Go stabbing: Jonathon Peterson jailed for Bendigo attempted armed robbery
A Pokemon Go player was hunting Pikachu through Bendigo but instead found “terrifying” violence after he was stabbed in the neck by a thug who wanted a cigarette.
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A Bendigo man stabbed in the neck while playing Pokemon Go was left traumatised and unable to enjoy life anymore, a court has heard.
The victim was wandering through Bendigo hunting Pikachu and pals when his attacker, Jonathon Peterson, asked for a cigarette just after 11pm on January 29, 2018.
Peterson – on his way back from collecting cigarette butts from a pub – attacked his victim near a Bendigo service station.
Peterson – who asked his victim for a cigarette and $5 – threatened the man with a knife.
“Give us what you got,” Peterson said before he stabbed the Pokemon Go player twice in the neck and once in the shoulder.
The victim lost a lot of blood and was taken to Bendigo hospital.
He remained at the hospital until January 31.
In the meantime, Peterson had returned to his Long Gully home.
He told a neighbour he had “just stabbed some c***” for a cigarette”.
Police arrested Peterson after investigators discovered “fresh blood” outside Peterson’s home and on his shoes.
Peterson, 25, was sentenced at the County Court on February 5 to a minimum 32 months’ jail after pleading guilty to intentionally causing injury and attempted armed robbery.
Judge Sarah Dawes said the victim was “emotionally distraught and distressed”.
“To have been confronted by an unknown man, who demanded at knifepoint that he hand over his property and then to be stabbed, must have been a terrifying experience,” she said.
“Your conduct was threatening, intimidating and violent.
“The complainant was not known to you, so the selection of him as your victim was a random one.
“He was vulnerable, walking alone on the street late at night.”
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The victim said his life had changed since he was attacked.
“Everything I enjoyed has been taken away and it is really difficult to pick up the pieces and try and live a normal life again,” he said.
Peterson – who had spent 402 days in custody at the time of sentencing – was jailed for a maximum four years and six months.