He 'turned his life around'... then 'saw red' and slashed an innocent man
08.09.2023 - 20:07
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man with a string of convictions - who has 'turned his life around', enrolling on a counselling course as a mature student - slashed an innocent person's face with an eight-inch knife. Paul Wilkinson 'saw red' after his laptop was taken from his room at the Parkland Hotel in Collyhurst.
He burst into another room, threatening: "I want my f****** money." It isn't known who took the university-issued laptop, which went missing a few days earlier on June 11. It contained all his work and documents.
Picking up an eight-inch knife, the 41-year-old slashed the innocent victim across the face twice before leaving, prosecutor Isabella Denn-White told Manchester Crown Court.
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The victim recognised him from a nearby shop, but didn't know why he attacked him. He said in a statement: "This incident made me feel very nervous and intimidated by someone I'd never met or spoken to before.
"I just feel sorry for him and hope it's a lesson he has learnt."
Police were called and later found Wilkinson, from Newton Heath, hiding in the bathroom in another room at the hotel. He has 33 previous convictions for 75 offence - including incidents of violence.
Mitigating, Niamh McGinty said: "There is no one more disappointed or frustrated to find himself before these courts than Mr Wilkinson." She said that despite his 'terrible' criminal record, he had not committed an offence since October 2020 and had been determined to make a 'fresh start'.
"He had taken enormous steps to turn his life around," Ms McGinty added. "He had done his A-Levels in criminology and psychology and was in the first year of his degree at the University of