North Belfast man who stabbed neighbour after hurling bricks jailed

An eight-year sentence was today (Friday) imposed upon a 33-year old who stabbed a man in the chest then hid the bloodstained knife under the floorboards of his bedroom.

As she sentenced Terry Samuel Mairs for a host of offences committed over a two-day period in June 2022, Judge Donna McColgan KC told the north Belfast man that he will serve four years in prison followed by four years on licence.

Mairs, from Silverstream Avenue, appeared at Belfast Crown Court where he admitted assaulting one neighbour, stabbing a man who had just collected his daughter from school and damaging two cars by throwing bricks at vehicles parked in the street. He also admitted a charge of possessing a knife with intent.

The first incident occurred on June 9, 2022 when a man who was walking down Silverstream Avenue to his local shop was approached by an armed Mairs. This injured party’s father was attacked by Mairs in a previous incident the year before, and on June 9 Mairs ran at him with a knife.

The neighbour ran off but was chased by Mairs who then stopped and shouted ‘it’s a small world, watch you don’t get cut. I’m coming for you’.

The following day, a female neighbour and her ex-partner were returning to her Silverstream Avenue home after collecting their daughter from school. They parked a short distance from her home as they could see a disturbance in her street involving Mairs, who was standing in his garden throwing bricks at parked cars.

Mairs - who was described by an eye witness as being ‘out of it’ - was then observed running from his garden and throwing bricks at random in the street. As the female neighbour and her ex-partner reached her front gate, a brick was thrown at them by Mairs which narrowly missed her and her daughter.

At this point the injured party told the two females to go into the house then shouted at Mairs ‘you nearly hit my daughter with that’. As he turned to go back to the house, he was stabbed twice by Mairs to the left-hand side of his chest close to his heart.

The injured party saw blood running from the wound and shouted that he’d been stabbed by Mairs. His ex-partner ran back out into the street and shouted for help and the wounded man was assisted by other residents. He was rushed to hospital and remained there for four days where he was treated for the injuries to his chest.

Police were called and during a search of Mairs home, officers located a knife stained with the injured party’s blood under the floorboards of his bedroom. This discovery, Judge McColgan said, “clearly showed the defendant has clarity of mind to hide the incriminating piece of evidence after he had stabbed the injured party and before the police arrived to arrest him”.

Following his detention, the first interview police had with Mairs had to be suspended due to his incoherence. During a second interview, he refused to provide an account or answer any questions about the incident.

Mairs - who has 48 previous convictions - later told a Probation Officer that on June 9 he only threw one stone, that he was punched five times by a man who ran out of bush and that he picked an object up off the ground and ‘made an action’ to defend himself.

This account was not accepted by either the Crown or Judge McColgan. The Judge said she has read and considered submissions made on Mairs behalf by defence barrister Michael Boyd.

This includes Mairs history of poor mental health, his feelings of paranoia on the day in question and the time he has already spent in custody.

Citing several aggravating factors including Mairs intoxication and the fact that the violence occurred whilst children were present, Judge McColgan imposed the eight years sentence.

Before he was taken back into custody, the Judge told Mairs: “It will be imperative that prior to your release, you have the appropriate mental health strategies in place before you are released into the community.”

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