'Volatile' Rugby man jailed after using pocket knife to slash housemate's head

Dillon Morrow had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to wounding his victim, Frantisek Baksi, during the incident.

And his plea of not guilty to a more serious charge of doing so with intent to cause serious injury was accepted by the prosecution.

Morrow (24) of William Street, Rugby, was jailed for 21 months.

Prosecutor Sarah Morris said that in August there was ‘some sort of disagreement’ between Morrow and Mr Baksi, one of the three other tenants at the house.

One of the other tenants called the police as Morrow, who seemed drunk, confronted Mr Baksi in the hallway and blocked his way before slapping him around the face.

Mr Baksi pushed him away, and they began fighting, during which Mr Baksi said Morrow was trying to punch him.

He grabbed hold of Morrow, and then felt what he believed were punches to the top of his head, so pushed him away – and then noticed blood on his shoulder.

Mr Baksi rushed into the bathroom where Miss Morris said he saw in the mirror that he had been quite badly wounded to the top of his head.

Coming out of the bathroom, he saw that Morrow was holding a small knife, so rushed into his bedroom and locked the door before phoning their landlady who then called the police.

When Morrow, who had previous convictions for assault and for having a bladed article, was arrested, he put the blame for the incident on Mr Baksi.

Ben Williams, defending, said: “It is common ground that the use of the knife was spontaneous.

“It was an argument which led to a fight, during which the defendant took out a small folding pocket knife.”

Jailing Morrow, Judge Peter Cooke told him: “A disagreement between you and one of your housemates turned from a verbal disagreement into a physical confrontation.

“Mr Baksi, it has to be said, reacted robustly, and for a while it was six of one and half-a-dozen of the other.

“But it descended into an unseemly fight, and you escalated it because he felt what he thought were punches raining down on his head, and then realised he was bleeding.

"This was a sizeable gash to the man’s head, caused with a knife. Your antecedents show you to be a volatile and, on occasions, aggressive individual.

“This was violence done to a man in his own home, where once he has shut the door he ought to be able to feel safe.”