Zane Taitoa Currie, 31, and Moki Kurt Poulson, 34, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to assault with intent to injure.
The court heard the two men were serving prisoners at Otago Corrections Facility on October 10.
They were standing at a window making gang slogan gestures and receiving them back from a third man.
The victim walked past the trio before Poulson approached him from behind and stabbed him in the neck using a shank.
The exact nature of the weapon was still unknown, but Poulson claimed it was a pen wrapped in paperwork.
Poulson continued to assault the victim before Currie jumped in, kicking and kneeing the victim in the head multiple times.
He stomped on the man once, before continuing the barrage with a flurry of punches about the man’s head and body.
The attack only ended when Corrections officers intervened.
The victim suffered a small puncture wound to his neck as well as foot imprints, scuff marks and bruising around his ribs.
Judge David Robinson noted the defendants had extensive criminal histories, both involving convictions for violence.
Poulson told a probation officer he was a member of the Black Power gang and his only concern was surviving.
He might apologise to the victim if he got the chance and would try not to let something similar happen again, he said.
But he refused to participate in therapeutic interventions because he saw ‘‘no point’’.
Currie also told a probation officer he did not want to engage in rehabilitation but his attitude towards Corrections staff had improved since he was transferred to a prison in Auckland.
He was assessed as posing a high risk of reoffending and very high risk of causing harm given his violent history.
Last year, Currie was jailed for three years after a two-week spree of offending which included ramming a police car in a stolen vehicle.
The defendant was a member of the Tribesmen gang and had no intentions of leaving, the court heard.
Judge Robinson warned the defendants’ prison terms would only get longer if there were any further assaults.
‘‘The court has zero tolerance for violence within the custodial environment.’’
He sentenced Poulson to 17 months and 2 weeks’ imprisonment while Currie received a jail term of 17 months.
The sentences would be served on the prisoners’ existing terms.
A third co-defendant is defending the charge he faced.
