A PLUMBER who stabbed his workmate on a job site at Blackalls Park last year after an argument over shoddy work has pleaded guilty in Newcastle District Court.
Gene Joseph Howard, 40, had pleaded not guilty to a number of serious charges and was expected to face a trial next year but he was re-arraigned during the super callover list on Monday and pleaded guilty to reckless wounding and affray.
He remains on bail and will be sentenced in March.
Howard and the victim were both plumbers working on a job site at Faucett Street, Blackalls Park in August, 2021, when they became involved in a heated argument over the phone.
When the victim arrived at the worksite about 15 minutes, the pair "shaped up" and Howard stabbed the victim in the left arm with a Stanley knife, leaving a laceration from his shoulder down to his elbow.
