SA man jailed for killing mate in fight AN Adelaide bank worker who was confronted and pursued by an "intimidating" group of four men has not been spared a jail term for fatally stabbing one with a carving knife. Judge Paul Muscat told Thomas Michael Cavanagh that the circumstances of his crime were "atypical" in that he was not the aggressor and was reacting to a situation which confronted him. But he refused to suspend a minimum two years and nine months jail term, saying Cavanagh carried and used a lethal weapon leading to the tragic and untimely death of his childhood friend, Sam Davey, 34. "Far too many young men are maimed or killed through the use of knives," he said in the South Australian District Court on Monday. Cavanagh, 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter through the use of excessive self-defence outside his Pasadena unit in August 2012. Mr Davey, his brother Josh and two other men, had waited outside to confront Cavanagh, each having a "petty" personal gripe against him, the judge said. He accepted that Cavanagh started carrying the knife for his protection, holding genuine fears of becoming a target of violence. One man had texted him calling him a coward and asking whether he had booked a hospital bed. When Cavanagh arrived home, the four men walked out of the driveway and one punched Cavanagh. He ran away but was pursued and attacked, before "flailing the knife in a frenzy" resulting in one blow penetrating deep into Mr Davey's chest. Not only did the attackers set out to get Cavanagh, but when "their brother and friend was lying dead on the street" some refused to tell police what had happened, the judge said. Their behaviour that evening was shameful and each will have to live with the knowledge that their own actions very much contributed to this death. In setting a maximum term of five years, the judge noted Cavanagh was contrite and had good prospects for rehabilitation.