Published date: 02 November 2015 |
Published by: Staff reporter
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A MAN who drew a knife on a father on a school route has been sentenced to a year in prison.
The trial of Scott Dale Williams, 43, of Hill Court, Hightown, concluded on Friday.
On the morning of April 24, Williams used a large knife to threaten father Christopher Jones, who had just dropped his young daughter off at nearby Ysgol Bodhyfryd.
After more than an hour of deliberating, jurors found Williams guilty of having been unlawfully in possession of a knife, which he used with the intent to threaten Mr Jones.
Sentencing Williams at the end of a two-day Mold Crown Court trial, sitting in Chester, Judge Geraint Walters said it was a “great shame” Williams had not had the courage to admit his crime to the jury the previous day, when evidence was taken from witnesses.
In mitigation, Williams’ defence barrister Henry Hills told the judge that since the incident, the defendant had been on an electronically-monitored curfew for 188 days.
Because of this, 94 days – half of the amount of days spent on the curfew – of his 12-month sentence would be deemed served.
In his summing up, the judge also referred to the evidence given by the complainant Mr Jones, and also of passer-by Paul Sampson, in court the day before, saying: “Two men, quite separately, described the knife in detailed terms.”
He added: “People who take knives to public places should expect a prison sentence.
“My judgment is that when you take a knife into a public place, the risk of doing so in a situation where there’s a confrontation going on is high.
“You and the complainant agreed to have it out. You decided to arm yourself, you were going to get the better of him.
“I’ve no shadow of a doubt that if he hadn’t run away, that knife would have been used in some way.
“The message has got to be understood – people who take dangerous weapons like these out to the street must expect a prison sentence.”
He also added the time and place of the incident – at about 9am near a primary school – were also aggravating factors.
As well as the prison sentence, Judge Walters also ordered Williams pay a victim surcharge and other costs, which would be dealt with administratively after he had served his sentence.
A MAN who drew a knife on a father on a school route has been sentenced to a year in prison.
The trial of Scott Dale Williams, 43, of Hill Court, Hightown, concluded on Friday.
On the morning of April 24, Williams used a large knife to threaten father Christopher Jones, who had just dropped his young daughter off at nearby Ysgol Bodhyfryd.
After more than an hour of deliberating, jurors found Williams guilty of having been unlawfully in possession of a knife, which he used with the intent to threaten Mr Jones.
Sentencing Williams at the end of a two-day Mold Crown Court trial, sitting in Chester, Judge Geraint Walters said it was a “great shame” Williams had not had the courage to admit his crime to the jury the previous day, when evidence was taken from witnesses.
In mitigation, Williams’ defence barrister Henry Hills told the judge that since the incident, the defendant had been on an electronically-monitored curfew for 188 days.
Because of this, 94 days – half of the amount of days spent on the curfew – of his 12-month sentence would be deemed served.
In his summing up, the judge also referred to the evidence given by the complainant Mr Jones, and also of passer-by Paul Sampson, in court the day before, saying: “Two men, quite separately, described the knife in detailed terms.”
He added: “People who take knives to public places should expect a prison sentence.
“My judgment is that when you take a knife into a public place, the risk of doing so in a situation where there’s a confrontation going on is high.
“You and the complainant agreed to have it out. You decided to arm yourself, you were going to get the better of him.
“I’ve no shadow of a doubt that if he hadn’t run away, that knife would have been used in some way.
“The message has got to be understood – people who take dangerous weapons like these out to the street must expect a prison sentence.”
He also added the time and place of the incident – at about 9am near a primary school – were also aggravating factors.
As well as the prison sentence, Judge Walters also ordered Williams pay a victim surcharge and other costs, which would be dealt with administratively after he had served his sentence.
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