A Unanderra man who spent five months in custody without bail after stabbing his sibling with a pocket knife outside the Wollongong methadone clinic has avoided further time behind bars.
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Timothy Marskell, 39, picked up his brother Daniel Bonacina, 41, from his house just after 7am on April 12, 2018 and drove the pair to the clinic to get their methadone dose.
Marskell parked on Urunga Parade and the two men began walking to the clinic but soon got into an argument, which quickly turned physical as the siblings began to push each other.
Marskell pulled out a small, black-coloured pocket knife and stabbed Mr Bonacina in the abdomen.
A witness sitting outside the clinic saw Mr Boncina go white and use both hands to hold his stomach, while Marskell called out for help, then fled the scene in his vehicle.
Mr Bonacina told the witness "I don't think I'm going to make it".
The man helped Mr Bonacina walk to Wollongong Hospital where he was immediately admitted for surgery to repair his eviscerated bowel, which was protruding through the wound.
Mr Bonacina was discharged from hospital four days later.
Meanwhile, police arrested Marskell and charged him with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He eventually pleaded guilty to reckless wounding in a plea deal with prosecutors.
Marskell was remanded in custody but granted bail after five months.
During a hearing in Wollongong District Court on Friday, Judge Robert Sutherland sentenced Marskell to a two-year intensive corrections order, with 200 hours of community service.
He found the five months Marskell had already spent behind bars was an appropriate punishment for his crime and he should not be sent back to jail.
The court heard the two brothers had had a close relationship before the incident and it was hoped in time they could repair their friendship.
Marskell's mother told his treating psychologist the entire family was "shocked and emotionally torn" by what had occurred.
[His mother] viewed the stabbing as being out of character and her boys had never been physical or antagonistic toward each other
- Judge Robert Sutherland
"[His mother] viewed the stabbing as being out of character and her boys had never been physical or antagonistic toward each other," Judge Sutherland said, reading from a psychological report tendered during the court proceedings.
