Swansea Crown Court heard how a five-hour stand-off with armed police followed a 999 call for help
A LLANELLI man became involved in a five-hour stand-off with armed police - after his partner had threatened to stab him.
Swansea Crown Court heard that officers had originally been called to the house in Dafen on the night on March 1 following reports of an on-going domestic incident in which the partner of Simon Cooke was threatening to stab him.
However by the time police arrived the couple had made-up — and they turned their attention to the police.
A five-hour stand-off with armed officers then followed, which has led to a referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
The court heard the couple refused to co-operate with the officers who came to their door, and would not let them in - leading to the use of a taser and forced entry being authorised.
Officers made a number of attempts to get through the front door of the property in Clos Cilsaig before going around the back, where they saw the defendants in the kitchen armed with knives.
The court heard the couple made threats to stab the officers if they entered the property.
Helen Randall, prosecuting, said a five-hour stand-off then ensued at the house, with armed police putting a "containment cordon" around the property.
At one stage 42-year-old Cooke told officers he was going to get his shotgun though a subsequent search of the property found no such weapon.
At 5am police eventually forced entry to the property — Cooke resisted arrest and was taken to floor and handcuffed, his partner "presented herself to officers" and was arrested without further incident.
Cooke had previously pleaded guilty to obstructing a police officer and to breaching a previously imposed suspended sentence when he appeared in the dock.
The suspended sentence relates to a conviction for inflicting actual bodily harm when Cooke had been part of a trio of men who had gone to a flat in Llwynhendy and — after a chase around the building — had assaulted one of the occupants, leaving the victim with bite-marks and stamp-wounds on his body and neck.
The court heard Cooke has 13 previous convictions for some 28 offences - including two for obstructing a constable and two for possessing a bladed article - and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
John Allchurch, for Cooke, said the stand-off with police had arisen from a domestic incident and a 999 call for help but that by the time police arrived "neither of them were very receptive to police intervention".
READ MORE: Man in stable condition following 'serious assault' in Llanelli in early hours of this morning
Recorder Richard Booth QC said he was required to activate Cooke's suspended sentence unless it would be unjust to do so and that "by a whisker" he had decided this was the case.
For obstructing a constable he sentenced Cooke to a 12 month community order with a rehabilitation requirement, and for breaching the suspended sentence he fined him £250.
The court heard Cooke's partner had previously been given a community order and fine for her part in the events of March 1 and 2.
Two days after the stand-off, the emergency services were again called to the Clos Cilsaig house after a neighbour saw smoke coming from a chip pan that had been left on the cooker. The couple were both treated for a suspected drug overdose.
A complaint has been made about the way Dyfed-Powys Police handled the Dafen situation, and the matter referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The force is currently carrying out a local investigation into the circumstances of the stand-off.
Read more at http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/five-hour-stand-off-with-armed-police-after-stabbing-threat/story-29888105-detail/story.html#oQZ7o0I43uK1cWrE.99
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