Homeless man jailed for throwing knife at Cardiff centre

A homeless man has been jailed for throwing a knife at a fellow service user during a violent incident at a Cardiff homelessness centre.

Curtis Parsons, 31, threw the knife he had been using to eat breakfast at Daniel Edwards at the Huggard Centre in Cardiff on October 12, a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court has heard.

The court heard how Mr Edwards approached Parsons and stood over him before an argument occurred. Parsons then stood to his feet in an aggressive manner, still holding his knife which he had used to eat in his right hand. He told Mr Edwards: “I’ll get you. I’ll put you underground.”

Parsons then threw the knife towards Mr Edwards, who was a short table distance away from him, with the instrument hitting him on his knee.

Parsons then picked up a chair and moved to throw it at Mr Edwards before security staff member Nathan Hill stepped in to intervene.

Mr Hill disarmed Parsons of the chair, picked him up and removed him from the centre, during which time Parsons had been “kicking and screaming erratically”, causing breaks to kitchenware, and striking Mr Hill to the shin, the court heard.

Parsons was arrested at the centre and denied the offence when spoken to by police, claiming Mr Edwards had “started on him”.

Appearing at Cardiff Crown Court via HMP Cardiff video-link, Parsons, whose address was listed as The Huggard Centre, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to affray.

In mitigation, Parsons’ solicitor Hannah Friedman said: “He did not react well on the date in question. He has issues in terms of anger management which he wants to improve and work on. Mr Parsons tells me he should have dealt with things far better that day.

“It is right that Mr Parsons can be seen eating food with cutlery. It was not that he picked up a knife to have an argument, it was already in his hand when he was eating.

“It was a short-lived overreaction at a time when he had a knife in his hand eating breakfast. He has had a difficult childhood, having been asked to leave the family home and grew up in local authority care. He has been left with no option but to go to the Huggard Centre a number of times in his life.”

Sentencing Parsons, His Honour Judge Paul Hobson said: “Whatever the problem was between you, your reaction was extreme.

“You jumped to your feet holding a knife you had been using to eat and threw the knife. Any contact was glancing in nature, with no suggestion of injury caused.

“You carried on your aggression by picking up a chair, then struggled violently with Nathan Hill as he tried to control your behaviour.”

Parsons was sentenced to four months in prison.