Man jailed after 15-hour knifepoint hostage ordeal

A 31-year-old man who imprisoned his stepfather in a bedroom and repeatedly held a kitchen knife to his throat during a terrifying ordeal lasting through the night has been jailed for six years.

Jordan Howe, of High Street, Graig, Pontypridd, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court after previously entering a guilty plea to false imprisonment. He received a one-quarter reduction for that plea and will serve half the term in custody before being released on licence.

The hostage situation

Prosecutor Ieuan Bennett told the court that Howe’s stepfather came home from a shopping trip in Pontypridd on October 4 last year to find the defendant sitting on the sofa holding a kitchen knife and moving it between his hands.

The stepfather concluded Howe had taken drugs and was not behaving normally. When he tried to leave by saying he planned to visit the defendant’s sister, Howe became agitated and began speaking about masked men who wanted to harm him.

After phoning his sister and talking about dying while accusing people of conspiring against him, Howe forced his stepfather from the living room into a bedroom and announced he was taking him hostage.

Threats through the night

He pushed his victim onto the bed before climbing on himself and pressing the blade against his stepfather’s neck. The court heard Howe told him: “I will slit your throat then my own throat – I will be with my mother and you are coming with me.”

The prosecutor said those words appeared to relate to the death of Howe’s mother, which had occurred almost exactly a year before.

Howe used a wardrobe to block the bedroom door shut and continued making threats to kill his stepfather. He also spoke to his sister by phone during the siege, warning he would petrol bomb her home if she contacted police.

When his stepfather asked to be let go, Howe refused, describing him as his “bargaining chip.”

Armed police response

The defendant’s sister had already called police after becoming alarmed by Howe’s earlier phone call. Officers who arrived assessed what they could see and hear through the bedroom window and determined they were dealing with a hostage-type scenario, prompting armed units to be deployed.

A lengthy negotiation followed, stretching into the early hours of the next morning. At one point during the standoff, the stepfather noticed a red light sweeping around the room – believed to be the laser sight from an armed officer’s weapon outside.

Howe told his stepfather he hoped armed police were present because he would rather die than return to prison, which the victim interpreted as a desire to be killed by officers.

How it ended

As the night wore on, Howe grew tired and smoked crack cocaine before beginning to pack a bag. His stepfather asked if he could leave, and this time Howe agreed. The victim shifted the wardrobe enough to squeeze through the gap and left the flat at 4.50am, reaching officers waiting outside.

Police instructed Howe to exit the property and he was arrested shortly afterwards. He declined to answer questions in interview.

Previous offending and mitigation

The court heard Howe has 31 previous convictions spanning 51 offences, including burglaries, affray, knife possession, harassment, cannabis possession, shoplifting, inflicting grievous bodily harm, assaulting emergency workers, threatening behaviour, and dishonesty matters.

James Evans, representing Howe, said the facts were not in dispute. He told the court that Howe had been abstaining from crack cocaine but turned back to the drug around the anniversary of his mother’s death. He said the defendant, at 31, was beginning to mature and wanted to find employment and move away from his existing peer group.

Sentencing remarks

Recorder Greg Bull KC said Howe had decided “for no good reason” to take his frustrations out on his stepfather and had subjected him to a terrifying ordeal of threats and intimidation lasting 15 hours. Although the victim had declined to provide an impact statement, the judge said in his assessment Howe’s actions had caused his stepfather “substantial psychological damage.”