A ROMANIAN man has been handed a jail sentence after stabbing a man with a kitchen knife in Banbury.

Florin Stanescu, 43, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday (April 18) for one count each of affray and possession of a blade article.

It was heard that Stanescu had stabbed a man several times on February 9, 2020 after an argument about an ‘unpaid debt’.

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The man, who was hitting Stanescu with a golf club, was able to make a full recovery.

Sentencing him to 18 months imprisonment, Judge Nigel Daly said: “You got involved in a brawl with another man. He had a golf club which he used as a weapon.

“You had a knife which you used as a weapon. Knives kill people. Golf clubs rarely do. You stabbed him with that knife.

“Fortunately, he wasn’t terribly wounded.”

Opening the case, prosecutor Christopher Pembridge said that a resident of Prescott Avenue, Banbury was looking out of their window at 9pm when he noticed four men ‘pushing each other’.

One man had retrieved a golf club from the car and walked towards the defendant.

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Mr Pembridge said: “At this point, the defendant takes out of his hoody a knife and is holding it in his hand and it’s about 9cm in length.

“The man started swinging the golf club and hits the defendant in the arm and shoulder. The defendant tries to grab the gold club and they get into a grapple.

“He then starts stabbing him three to four times into the left side of his body. The member of the public watching then calls the police.”

In an interview, Stanescu explained what had happened and that he had not started the altercation which the Crown Prosecution Service accepted.

Defending Stanescu, his barrister explained that he had taken on a £200 debt from a female friend who owed the three unnamed man involved in the incident.

It was heard that upon arrest he was also deported back to Romania which caused a delay in him entering his guilty plea at the first opportunity.

In mitigation, it was heard that Stanasecu, of Grosvenor Road, Scarborough, has connections to Oxfordshire as his partner of five years lives in Bicester.

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“He deeply regrets this incident,” his barrister said.

Judge Daly was asked to consider whether to suspend the sentence. He said: “I’ve considered suspending this however I consider that using a knife in these circumstances requires an immediate custodial sentence.”

He will serve half of his sentence in custody before being released on licence.