A thug who slashed a man with a wine bottle in a wild attack has been locked up.
Nicola Mooney, 43, of Rose Terrace, Newcastle , was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to the assault at Newbiggin Hall on September 21, 2018.
Mooney became involved in a fight with 54-year-old John Hands after an argument broke out in Fairmans Chemist in Newbiggin Hall shopping centre shortly after 9pm.
She was ranting to staff about her prescription not being right when Mr Hands intervened, telling her to shut up.
A nasty row ensued and it quickly became intensely confrontational, despite the best efforts of staff and members of the public to keep them apart.
The court heard how troubled Mooney, who has struggled with mental health and addiction problems throughout her life, responded violently to Mr Hands' provocations, punching him in the face.
Her partner tried to defuse the situation by giving her a bottle of wine she’d bought for them to share, urging her to go and drink it and draw a line under the fight.
But Mooney lost it and wielded the bottle as a weapon, twice stabbing Mr Hands with it, resulting in injuries which left him bloodied and requiring three days in hospital.
When Mooney first stabbed him in the stomach, he reacted by taking of his shirt and goaded Mooney, saying “stab me in the neck”.
She didn’t need a second invitation and slashed at him, causing deep lacerations around the clavicle, leaving him bleeding heavily and needing three days of hospital care.
The court heard how one witness described Mooney as "wild" but another told police: “I honestly think she would have walked away if he didn’t keep shouting after them.”
Defending Mooney at Newcastle Crown Court on April 12, Penny Hall said: “There was a degree of provocation. He’s a much larger person than the defendant and was shouting in her face.
"She has suffered problems throughout her life and is classed as a vulnerable adult."
But prosecutor Vince War drew the judges attention to Mooney’s extensive history of offending - 29 convictions for 92 offences - including a 1997 sentence for wounding with intent and offences against police officers.
Sentencing Mooney, judge Sarah Mallet accepted Mooney has been provoked "in a number of ways" but triggered an extension on her sentence reserved for defendants dubbed "dangerous" in the eyes of the law.
Appearing from prison via video link, Mooney apologised to Mr Hands as the sentence was delivered.
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