A Portland man accused of stabbing another man in the genitals is "ecstatic" after a jury found he acted in self-defence.
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Jake Poole, 22, of Bennett Street, appeared in a Warrnambool County Court trial this week accused of stabbing two men at a property in Warrnambool last year.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of intentionally cause serious injury, recklessly cause serious injury, intentionally cause injury and recklessly cause injury.
The jury took about an hour to come back with four not guilty verdicts, decisions that left the courtroom stunned, barrister Morgan Brown emotional after her first defence case and Mr Poole delighted.
"I was more than worried, I was petrified," the slightly built Mr Poole said after the not guilty verdicts were returned.
"I'm very pleased the jury was able to see the truth," he said.
Earlier this week the victim told the court he woke to someone knocking on his front door about 3am on October 20. His pregnant partner answered the door. Their three young children were home at the time.
The victim approached the front door, where Mr Poole stood on the front veranda with a "big black dog" and demanded his phone and keys back.
The pair got into a scuffle. The victim said he thought Mr Poole had punched him in the groin and stomach. He later found out he had been stabbed.
The victim’s father came to the door and pushed Mr Poole against a fence. He suffered a small stab wound.
The victim said the next thing he remembered was seeing his partner as he came in and out of consciousness. He told her he thought he could taste his liver.
Mr Poole told police that someone with the same name as the victim had contacted his brother-in-law earlier that evening and that the victim had stolen his phone and keys.
He said he didn’t know where the victim lived and that his sister’s dog led him 850 metres to the victim's home.