A judge in Prince Albert has found a man guilty of threatening to cut a woman’s head off with a machete.
Raymond Knife, 34, is also guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend and failing to comply with a probation order.
He’s been serving time for a string of other offences after his arrest in Saskatoon last August – he was in possession of a machete at the time.
Things had gone south between the couple when the victim had been texting an ex, and then told Knife she was going to tell police about other crimes he’d allegedly been involved with.
Knife pushed her down, and threatened her with a machete, which the victim says he always carried with him in a backpack.
During testimony, the victim said Knife had taken cell phones and money from her during their arguments, which Judge Morin finds to be true.
There had initially been a charge of confinement and assaults with a cell phone and phone book, but there was no evidence of those things.
The charges were laid after the victim ran away from the apartment to Prince Albert’s South Hill Medical Clinic, which was nearby, and called police. In a “hysterical” state, the victim told police she’d been chased by Knife and two other men, who had been chasing her while brandishing machetes.
Police swept the area and found neither the accused, or any weapons.
Judge Morin has rejected defense’s argument that the victim’s testimony shouldn’t be considered because she had been off her medication to treat mental health issues and doing meth at the time.
A victim impact statement will be delivered next week, and Knife will be sentenced.
On Friday, court also heard that while behind bars, Knife has accrued another charge of failure to comply with a probation order since his last court appearance in early April.