A man who stabbed and nearly killed his boyfriend during an argument while the two were driving to Prince George was sentenced Friday to three years and nine months in jail.
Less credit for time served prior to sentencing, Jesse Cote has a further two years and two months to serve for the March 1, 2018 incident on Highway 97 at Salmon Valley.
Because the remainder of the sentence is greater than two years, it will be served in a federal prison.
If the victim had not waved down a passing vehicle and got the occupants to call for help, he likely would have died. It first appeared he had been stabbed behind his ear but after arrival at University Hospital of Northern B.C., the cartoroid artery in the side of his neck burst, sparking emergency surgery.
Even before he had arrived at the hospital, it was touch and go. Because his blood pressure was so low, paramedics had to drill a hole in a leg bone to administer medication and by the time they had reached Prince George, he had lost about two litres of blood.
The victim told police he and Cote had been arguing while driving to Prince George. Things escalated after they had switched seats and the man was stabbed after he had got behind the wheel.
The two had been using drugs over the days before. Cote said he had been using heroin regularly and was in a poor mood that morning after he had consumed methamphetamine and alcohol the night before.
In sentencing Cote, provincial court judge Michael Gray told Cote that while an argument had preceded the stabbing, the attack was unprovoked.
Gray also noted that Cote has been diagnosed with a form of psychosis yet failed to take steps to get help, despite that being a condition of his bail from a prior incident
"You were responsible for your conduct," Gray told Cote.
