A Pembroke man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a machete attack in a Hamilton parking lot.Ahijah Dill, 27, received an additional nine months’ imprisonment for telling Miguel Swan to drop the charges, or be killed “next time”.Supreme Court heard that at around 11pm on January 21 last year, Mr Swan was sitting in his car the Leopard’s Club parking lot when Dill approached him asking for a cigarette.Dill reportedly left the area and returned a short while later with a machete in hand. He repeatedly swung at Mr Swan, striking him in the back of the neck, his upper back and his right arm.Mr Swan was eventually able to run away from his attacker, but only after suffering numerous injuries, including a 50cm cut to his right arm which detached his tricep muscle.The tricep was surgically reattached but Mr Swan still is in constant pain and unable to use his ring and pinky finger. The court heard he’s in need of further surgery but has been unable to pay for it due to being unemployed, and uninsured.After Mr Swan reported the matter to police, Dill told the victim in a chance encounter: “If you don’t drop the charges, I’m going to kill you next time.”Dill denied the offences but, following a trial was convicted by a majority decision of wounding with intent to cause bodily harm, possessing a bladed article in an increased penalty zone, and threatening a witness.Prosecutor Takiyah Burgess said Dill’s “deliberate and unprovoked attack” showed a total disregard for community-held values.The injuries Mr Swan suffered should push the penalty to the upper end of the spectrum, she told the court.“His arm was pretty much hanging on,” Ms Burgess said. “It was by the grace of God that he kept his arm.”She also pointed out that Dill was previously sentenced to three years in prison for possessing bladed articles in public.Dill, who was unrepresented, asked for the conviction to be appealed, saying the jury had reached its verdict without evidence.“You’re trying to impose the maximum sentence on me, but I’m black balled. I’m black balled,” he said. “It’s all in your hands, your honour. All I’m asking for is an appeal to be approved.”Puisne Judge Stephen Hellman said the attack was premeditated as Dill left the area, thought about it, and returned with a weapon.“The victim told you to f*** off and you did, but you returned with a machete, and attacked him,” Justice Hellman said. “You felt disrespected, but your reaction was wildly disproportionate.“Mr Swan could have very easily been killed by the attack, and you could have very easily been faced with charges of murder.”The injuries were not severe enough to elevate the wounding charge above the usual sentence of three to five years, he added.And he highlighted Dill’s history of mental illness as a mitigating factor, but said it also indicated he was highly likely to reoffend.He jailed Dill for five years for wounding, and seven years for having a bladed article in an increased penalty zone, ordering that both sentences run concurrently.He gave Dill an additional nine months for intimidating a witness, and ordered that sentence run consecutive to the others.Dill was heard to curse as the sentence was delivered saying: “Seven years for a f***ing machete?”