A 38-year-old man has been jailed for three years after stabbing another man during a Christmas Eve bar brawl.

Jaha Mallory, from Southampton, was also ordered to serve two years’ probation once he has completed his prison sentence.

At a sentencing hearing in Supreme Court yesterday, prosecutor Javone Rogers said that the attack happened at Place’s Place on Dundonald Street on the evening of December 24, 2019.

Mr Rogers said that Mallory approached the victim, Tio Smith, at the bar and after a brief exchange, revealed that he had a knife in his right hand.

Mr Smith then grabbed Mallory and began pushing him towards the door of the bar, telling other patrons that Mallory was armed with a knife.

Mr Smith was eventually able to eject Mallory from the premises but as he did so, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. But he did not realise he had been stabbed until he returned to his seat, took off his rain jacket, and saw that his shirt was “saturated in blood”.

Mr Smith was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery for a three centimetre-deep wound close to his heart.

Mr Rogers said: “There could very easily have been a worse outcome.”

He suggested a sentence of between three and four years with an additional two years of probation.

Representing Mallory, lawyer Charles Richardson said that although the attack appeared to have been random, the two men were related and that there had been previous tensions between them.

Mr Richardson added that Mallory had been drinking heavily before the attack.

“Had he not been drinking the way he was, this would not have happened,” he said.

Asked if he had anything to say before sentencing, Mallory, who has previous convictions and alcohol addiction issues, said: “I apologise to my family for being in this situation again.”

Sentencing Mallory, Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams, said that an eight-year custodial sentence was warranted.

But she acknowledged that Mallory was eligible for a 30 per cent discount because he had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Mallory was entitled to an additional 30 per cent “discount” under a policy launched earlier this year offering further reductions to defendants.

She sentenced Mallory to three years behind bars, with time already served to be taken into custody.

Once released, Mallory will be on probation for two years and could be subject to certain conditions, such as abstaining from alcohol, attending a drug treatment programme and agreeing to random drug tests.

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