The father of convicted murderer Shayd Robinson has been sentenced for stabbing another man at a pharmacy.



Tom Robinson, 39, of Stokes Valley, had pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to injure shortly before he was due to go to trial, for stabbing another man at a pharmacy where they were to get methadone.



His own father, Benjamin Robinson, almost killed a man when he shot him in the back during an armed robbery and Tom Robinson is the father of Shayd Robinson, who was jailed for life for the murder of Aaron Hadfield in January 2012.



Shayd had said he carried the knife because he had already been attacked once.



Tom Robinson already has a conviction for manslaughter from 1994 when he stabbed his cousin Royston Hughes to death in an argument over a car stereo. He went into his house for a blunt knife. Returning to the fight, he stabbed his cousin four times.



He claimed self-defence, saying his cousin had cut himself on the knife as he lunged forward, though a pathologist at the time said all four stab wounds went deeply downwards and the killer blow was delivered to the hilt.



He had claimed self-defence for the latest stabbing too, which Wellington District Court judge Chris Tuohy accepted. He sentenced him to nine months' home detention today.



Judge Tuohy said Tom Robinson had met with the victim at the Stokes Valley pharmacy, where they both picked up methadone. After a bit of a scuffle the two men ended up on the ground. The victim was stabbed in the left hip with a small knife Robinson carried on a key chain.



The victim needed stitches but had no lasting damage.



Judge Tuohy said the two men knew each other and he was satisfied Robinson had some fear of the other man, although he had acted excessively in stabbing him.



The judge said Robinson was stupid to carry even a small knife but had few convictions despite an extremely checkered background.

Fairfax NZ BEHIND BARS: Shayd Robinson, 21, was jailed for a 10-year non-parole period for killing Aaron Hadfield.