A 20-year-old man who brandished a knife through a child’s bedroom window during a heated argument has been sentenced to 10 months in a detention centre. 🔪⚖️
James Jones, of Delfryn in Penycae, appeared before Caernarfon Crown Court on Thursday, April 24, after previously pleading guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place.
The court heard that Andrew Hamilton, who lives on the ground floor of a block of flats in Wrexham, had been experiencing ongoing issues with an upstairs neighbour – a friend of Jones – over frequent parties and loud music disturbing Mr Hamilton’s three-year-old son.
Following a verbal confrontation on March 30 involving Mr Hamilton, the upstairs neighbour and three men including Jones, tensions escalated the next day when Mr Hamilton spotted Jones and the neighbour leaving the flats.
CCTV footage shown in court captured a heated argument between the parties before Jones was seen brandishing a knife, pointing it at Mr Hamilton through his son’s bedroom window, and pushing his arm through with the knife in hand.
Mr Hamilton told the court: “I felt really very threatened. I honestly thought he would try and kill me.”
Jones then slammed the window shut, punched it and left the scene. Police later found him hiding near a railway line with a Milwaukee locking knife with a three-inch blade discovered in his discarded jacket.
Defence lawyer Dafydd Roberts argued the incident was “relatively short-lived” and noted that threats were also made towards Jones. He added that the defendant “wants to make this his first and last time spent in custody.”
When sentencing Jones, Recorder Karen Ridge warned: “People who carry knives are at risk of acting impulsively.”
The knife used in the incident was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.
