KITCHENER - A Kitchener man who attacked a friend with a knife, causing "devastating" injuries, has been sent to prison for three years.

Abdulkadir Mohamed, 37, had been living temporarily in Steven Hart's Kitchener apartment when he barged into the bathroom, shoved Hart to the ground, jumped on top of him and pulled what was described as a "Rambo knife."

Mohamed stabbed or slashed Hart several times on the hands and right wrist, severing four tendons and two nerves. He required nine surgeries and still lacks full use of his hands.

During a struggle, they fell into the bathtub, breaking three of Hart's ribs. Hart quoted Mohamed as saying he should "just gut me like a (expletive) pig and leave me in the bathtub."

Hart said he wound up on top of Mohamed, managed to get the knife from him and ran downstairs to call 911 from another apartment unit.

Mohamed had falsely accused Hart of hacking Mohamed's phone. Crown prosecutor Aaron McMaster called it a "fairly inexplicable attack" and "horrifically violent."

McMaster noted Hart had invited Mohamed to temporarily stay for free at his apartment. The attack happened on May 1, 2017.

Mohamed was found guilty of assault with a weapon and aggravated assault, defined as wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering life, and was sentenced on Wednesday. He was handed a lifetime weapons ban and ordered to give a DNA sample.

The Crown sought three to four years in prison. Defence lawyer Jeffrey Garland asked for two, saying the attack was out of character for Mohamed.

Justice Melanie Sopinkanoted the "devastating" injuries sustained by Hart and said denunciation and deterrence must take centre stage.

But she said there were some mitigating factors, including the fact Mohamed had a traumatic life in his native Somalia. He has supports in the community and has expressed remorse for the attack.

"He didn't deserve it," Mohamed told the judge before sentencing. "He was my friend. I am sorry."

Before being sentenced this week, Mohamed was already serving a 190-day sentence for fraud. He was sentenced to an additional 21 days this week for another fraud. Mohamed has a prior conviction for trafficking a firearm.

gpaul@therecord.com

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Twitter: @GPaulRecord