A man who fought with the owner of a roadside takeout wagon and inflicted knife wounds during a botched attempted robbery, has been sentenced to six years in jail.

Tyneko Trott told the Supreme Court he was heavily intoxicated on the night of the attack and apologised to Arthur Dill, the owner of Jor-Jay’s Takeout on Front Street.

Trott, from Devonshire, said the cocktail of his seizure medication with cannabis and alcohol caused “violent behaviour and blackouts”.

The 37-year-old, who pleaded guilty in February 2022 to attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article in public, added: “I don’t really remember any of the circumstances, but I still apologise.”

Crown counsel Paul Wilson told Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams that Mr Dill had been cleaning his wagon at No 8 Car Park on Front Street, preparing to close for the night at 11.25pm on December 29, 2021.

Trott came to the window, bought a $2.50 soft drink, then slipped around the back and came into the vehicle.

He demanded money and brandished a knife, but the takeout owner ordered him to get out.

Trott told him again to “give me all the money”, and threatened to stab him.

When Mr Dill refused, the court heard Trott pointed the weapon and “lunged with the knife”.

The owner threw a jar of salsa and struck Trott on the head.

Mr Wilson said the two fought for several minutes and Mr Dill was cut on the hand while fighting off his attacker.

After the knife fell to the floor, Trott struck the takeout owner in the head with a cast-iron pot lid, but Mr Dill, who was wearing boots, kicked him to the back of the truck.

Trott grabbed the knife and fled.

Mr Dill watched him leave and called the police while tending to his wounded hand.

He flagged down a taxi on Front Street, explained that he had been robbed and stabbed and gave the driver a description of his assailant.

The taxi driver spotted Trott and tracked him around Hamilton. He stopped at the police station, but the staff were busy with others.

The driver found two police cars on the street and told them the direction of Trott’s movement.

Police found Mr Dill on Front Street bleeding from the hand, chest and head.

After getting a description of Trott, police found him in the Hamilton bus terminal with what appeared to be fresh blood on his clothes.

He was arrested and, when cautioned, claimed he had been set upon by others.

No weapons were found on him but he had a fresh cut to his hand, which was swabbed for forensic analysis.

Police found the knife lying outside the takeout wagon and Trott matched the complainant’s description.

In hospital, the takeout owner needed four stitches for his hand, seven stitches for a laceration on his chest and three for a cut to his arm.

He also sustained a wound to the top of the head.

Mr Wilson noted Trott’s past convictions, including being jailed for three years in 2011 after attempting to rob two different women of their handbags in Hamilton.

In 2016, Trott admitted assaulting two police officers and violently resisting arrest. He was given 12 months’ probation.

The court heard that Trott admitted he needed help because a prescription drug for epilepsy had become his “drug of choice” when mixed with alcohol and cannabis.

Trott expressed remorse and said that he wished the incident had never happened and that he was “sorry for the emotional and physical pain he caused”.

Mr Wilson said sentencing should take into account the “growing culture in our society, especially youth, to carry knives”.

The Crown called for 6½ to 8½ years’ imprisonment for attempted robbery and five to six years for the bladed weapon, to run concurrently.

Mr Wilson called for two years’ probation to follow with treatment programmes.

Elizabeth Christopher, for the defence, said Trott was concerned about his substance abuse and had pleaded guilty “almost immediately after” seeing his psychiatric report.

Ms Christopher called for a five-year prison sentence followed by “significant probation”.

She said her client would accept “significant probation”. She added: “We are open to whatever the court considers fit.”

Mrs Justice Subair Williams sentenced Trott to six years in prison for attempted armed robbery and five years for possessing a bladed article in public, with time in custody taken into account, followed by three years’ probation.