Joseph Matthews fronts court over sickening shopping centre attack

Horrified shoppers watched as a violent thug, armed with a knife, chased a man in a shopping centre, and inflicted life-threatening injuries on him.

Joseph Matthews has gone to jail for inflicting life-threatening injuries on a man with a knife in the Corio Village shopping centre.

A drug addict who chased a man inside a mall with a knife, slashed his face and stabbed him in the back has been jailed for more than four years.

Joseph Matthews, 21, appeared for sentencing in the County Court at Melbourne on Thursday on charges of intentionally causing serious injury and assaulting a custodial officer on duty.

The latter charge relates to him punching a custodial officer at the Port Phillip Prison in August 2023, resulting in a fracture to the check bone and a bleeding nose.

Matthews was sentenced to four years and three months in jail, with a minimum non parole of two years and six months.

Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis said Matthews went to the Corio Village shopping centre in Geelong on March 24, 2023 and confronted Ashley Norman who he knew at the food court.

Matthews pulled a knife from his shorts and chased Mr Norman in the food court area while brandishing a knife in a slashing motion.

Mr Norman attempted to take evasive action but got stabbed in the upper left side of his back and his face was slashed.

Corio Village Shopping Centre where Joseph Matthews attacked a man with a knife.

He was transferred to the Geelong University Hospital with life-threatening injuries and upon arrival, he was breathing at 50 breaths per minute — the normal rate is 20.

He was placed in an induced coma for treatment and transferred to the ICU where he was operated on the next day.

Matthews told police that he struggled to remember everything as he was heavily drug-affected at the time. Despite chasing Mr Norman around, he said it was not his intention to cause him injuries.

Matthews said he carried a knife for his protection, that he knew Mr Norman, had issues with him and an argument broke out.

On the other charge, Judge Karapanagiotidis said Matthews punched a Corrections officer at the Port Phillip Prison after calling him a f----- dog.

The officer was taken to the Werribee Hospital with facial injuries, including fracture to the check bone and a bleeding nose.

Prosecution called for a custodial sentence, saying a knife was used in the unprovoked attack, members of the public were present, and Mr Norman suffered life-threatening injuries. Judge Karapanagiotidis said the attack on Mr Norman was serious and brazen conduct and that a combination sentence of jail and community corrections order was not appropriate.