A homeless addict who robbed and wounded two men to get money for drugs has been sentenced to more than two years behind bars.

Jeremiah Burrows, 52, of no fixed address, admitted the offences when he appeared in Magistrates’ Court last month.

The court heard that Burrows first placed a knife to John Soares ― his former brother-in-law’s ― neck and stole $500 from him in September 2022.

The court also heard that Burrows beat Terrance Parsons with a wooden board before stealing his shorts, which contained $250 in cash, in July.

Mr Parsons was admitted to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and required more than 30 staples to close a head wound after the attack.

Yesterday, Burrows, who has previous convictions dating back to 1988, appeared in court for sentencing. Prosecutor Matthew Frick suggested he should be jailed for two years.

Burrows apologised to the court and the victims for his actions. He said he had committed the offences to feed his longstanding drug addiction.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson sentenced Burrows to two and a half years behind bars for each offence, to run concurrently, but ordered he be considered for the Right Living House treatment programme, offered by the Department of Corrections, while in prison.

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