A man who went on a stabbing rampage at a Dunedin Countdown supermarket and seriously injured four people has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Luke Lambert was sentenced on Tuesday at Dunedin High Court after pleading guilty to four charges of attempted murder at a previous court appearance.
Almost a year after Lambert carried out his frenzied attack, the four people he stabbed and seriously injured faced him in court.
Victim Jorge Fuenzalida said he was pleading with the offender to stop whilst he was being stabbed.
"I recall you stabbing my neck repeatedly and pleading with you to stop but you wouldn't. I was pleading for my life."
That's when Fuenzalida's wife Vanessa Andrews came to his aid.
"There was blood everywhere, there was blood pouring out of him like a fountain," she said.
On May 10 Lambert tried to buy beer at the supermarket but his card declined.
He went to the Octagon and told an associate "someone was going to get it" before returning to the supermarket.
Justice Eaton told the High Court Lambert picked up a packet of knives whilst in the supermarket.
"You went to aisle six, there you uplifted a packet of four vegetable knives from a shelf. The blades of the knives were 70mm in length."
Lambert used two of those knives in the attack.
Fuenzalida looked at Lambert in the High Court and told him one of the stab wounds was 1cm away from a major artery in his neck.
During sentencing at Dunedin Hight Court, Lambert's mental health and addiction issues were canvassed, and so was his lack of remorse.
Justice Eaton said Lambert was intending to kill his victims.
"The ferocious and sustained attack on the victims involved extreme violence to a very high degree. You inflicted multiple stabbings, you intended to kill your victims."
Lambert was sentenced to 13 years in prison, with a minimum period of six-and-a-half years.
He was also issued a three-strike warning.
A Countdown spokesperson said in a statement: "We are relieved the legal process is now concluded.
"We hope today's sentencing provides some comfort for our Dunedin team as they continue to work through the ongoing impact of what was an incredibly traumatic event for them."
