A MAN was stabbed several times after he was lured to an Echuca property on the pretence of a drug deal, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Waylon Walsh, 36, appeared in the County Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury, trafficking a drug of dependence, four counts of possessing a drug of dependence, and two counts of possessing a firearm as a prohibited person.
Documents released to the Bendigo Advertiser showed about 8am on September 15, 2019, Walsh and a co-offender asked the victim - a 42-year-old man - to come to their Echuca property to buy heroin.
Read other news:
When the man entered the property, Walsh's co-offender locked the main wooden front door and security door.
Walsh then came out of a bedroom and started yelling at the victim while holding a knife in his left hand.
Walsh ran at the man and punched him three or four times to the face. The victim fell to his knees before getting back up and grabbing Walsh, swinging him down onto a nearby couch and holding him face down.
Walsh still had the knife in his left hand as the man punched him to the back of the head.
Walsh stabbed backwards in the direction of the victim, striking the man in the right hand and head.
Walsh stabbed backwards again towards the victim's face, with the knife cutting through the man's mouth and up to his nose and cheekbone.
As the victim began to lose control, the man pulled Walsh by his collar onto the ground and stomped on his head before attempting to leave.
Walsh's co-offender tried to stop the victim from leaving, blocking the front door, but the man was able to push her away.
As he started to open the door, Walsh came up behind the man and stabbed him twice in the back with a knife.
The victim exited the front door before Walsh lunged at him again, stabbing him in the right armpit and cutting him across the chest.
The man tried to stem the bleeding with his jumper. Walsh, after being stopped by a witness, also attempted to stop the man's back from bleeding.
The witness called 000 and Walsh's co-offender told the operator, "he's bleeding everywhere" and "he's been stabbed, bashed, and everything".
The woman ended the phone call and Walsh and the witness dropped the victim off at hospital. The man had to be flown to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne for surgery.
Police arrived at the Echuca property about 8.15am. While detectives were establishing a crime scene, Walsh and the witness arrived back at the house.
Walsh was arrested about an hour later. He told police the victim had "blood all over him" with a knife in his back when he arrived at the property.
Police searched the property and seized items including a hunting knife, a package containing heroin, a snap-lock bag containing methamphetamine, and small containers filled with prescription medication.
During a second search on January 9 last year, police found and seized a sawn-off shotgun, a rifle, a slingshot, and two swords.
Defence lawyer Charles Morgan told the court there was no dispute Walsh invited the victim over with the intention to remonstrate.
But Mr Morgan said Walsh did not intend to stab the man, instead the situation "escalated quite quickly".
The defence lawyer said Walsh was an Aboriginal man who started using cannabis at 13 before moving to heroin at 15.
Mr Morgan said Walsh's formal education was almost "non-existent" and the 36-year-old had an acquired brain injury.
The defence lawyer said Walsh had already spent 535 days in custody and that pre-sentence detention, along with the other factors, should be considered in sentencing.
Judge John Smallwood said he would take those factors into account, along with the risk that Walsh could become institutionalised given his lengthy periods in jail.
Walsh was remanded in custody. He is due to return to the County Court next week for sentencing.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark bendigoadvertiser.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/BgoAddy
- Follow us on Instagram instagram.com/bendigoadvertiser/
- Follow us on Google News