Mansfield man who chased and stabbed housemate was triggered by victim dropping his vape

Nyaia Lakaiko “didn’t say anything but looked very angry” as he ran at the man, brandishing a knife at waist-height, in a hostel on Surrey Drive, on June 15, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

“As he ran downstairs he felt sharp pinches to the back of his head,” said Abigail Hill, prosecuting. “He thought he was going to be killed and pleaded for him to stop.”

Lakaiko slashed the man’s wrist and cornered him in the kitchen where he shouted: “I am going to kill you.”

His victim genuinely believed he would carry out the threat, but fortunately a housemate defused the situation and Lakaiko called the police himself.

The man sustained a cut to his wrist and three head wounds, which were closed with glue at King’s Mill Hospital where he also received a tetanus vaccination.

Lakaiko told police he thought the complainant was going to arm himself and picked up a knife from his bedside table.

“When asked how he would feel if he killed him he said it wouldn’t bother him,” Ms Hill added. “He said he would attack him again.”

His victim said he was left in shock and started to lock himself into his room. He kept re-living what happened, started looking behind him for the defendant, and wore a cap and sunglasses to conceal his identity.

Ellesse Taylor, mitigating, said: "The attack was spontaneous. He kept the kitchen knife in his bedroom along with his other cooking utensils. He didn't purposely arm himself."

She said Lakaiko is a vulnerable individual, of previous good character, who suffers from long-term depression following a difficult childhood..

“He recognises he didn't handle the situation well,” she said. “He called the police initially.”

Lakaiko, aged 42, now of no fixed address, admitted grievous bodily harm at Nottingham Magistrates Court, on June 16.

On Tuesday he received a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, with ten rehabilitation days. A two-year restraining order was also imposed.

"I accept this was an impulsive one-off," Recorder Richard Davis told him. "You need to be mindful of the effect of your actions on other people."