A violent shoplifter deliberately stabbed a cashier in an all night convenience store with a hypodermic needle before laughing and walking away.
Homeless Kieron O’Kelly was thrown out of the Costcutter shop in Exeter’s South Street after refusing to let staff check his bag.
He struggled with a male and female employee before returning and punching the man in the face and stabbing him in the stomach with the needle.
He sneered: “You better get that checked,” and the shop worker had to take anti viral drugs and endure weeks of worry before he was given the all clear.
The attack happened at 4.30 am and was caught on CCTV inside and outside the shop which showed O’Kelly removing the cap from the needle before carrying out the stabbing.
O’Kelly, aged 21, now of Smythen Street, Exeter, admitted causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for a year, suspended for two years by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.
He also ordered him to undergo 12 months of drug treatment and testing.
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He told him:”Your anger at being ejected from the store got the better of you. You removed the syringe from your bag and took the cap off.
“You used it to cause a penetrating injury, but more significantly you caused a great deal of psychological anxiety. It was quite unnecessary and out of proportion.
“When you told him he better get it checked out, that was a clear indication that he needed medication. That was very cruel.”
Mr Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said the attack took place in the early hours of Sunday July 15 last year and left the victim with a small puncture wound.
He went to hospital and was given a precautionary course of anti-retro viral treatment which left him feeling ill for a week. He had to return for more tests and suffered stress and worry.
Mr Brian Fitzherbert, prosecuting, said O’Kelly has found accommodation in the time since the attack and has engaged so well with the addiction agency Together that he has been recommended for a drug treatment order.
