A "troubled" man chased his former cellmate and swung a large knife at him after they rowed in St Helens town centre.
Cameron Edwards, 23, lunged at the other man several times with the blade after he was allegedly punched in the face as the two argued outside Cash Converters on Westfield Street at around 11.30pm on Saturday, August 27 2022.
CCTV of the incident showed the other man, identified in court only as Mr Carney, dodging and jumping away from the knife as Edwards continued to swing at him as the pair walked down New Cross Street.
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Edwards, formerly of Manville Street, St Helens, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, where he pleaded guilty to charges of threatening someone with a bladed article, possession of a bladed article, and threatening behaviour.
Prosecutor Miss Moore said police officers had been alerted to the situation by CCTV operators who noticed "a male walking around with a meat cleaver".
She said: "They found the defendant standing next to an industrial bin, involved in an argument with another male. The defendant had what appeared to be a large knife, however the defendant quickly discarded this when he spotted the approaching police vehicle."
Edwards appeared to be drunk, and had white powder around his nose which was later found to be ketamine.
He behaved aggressively towards police and passers-by, repeatedly shouting homophobic slurs, and when a police officer told him to stop he replied: "What are you going to do about it, f***** boy? Take these f***ing cuffs off, I haven't done anything."
The court heard Edwards, who has 12 convictions for 22 offences, and Mr Carney had previously served jail time together, but there had been no rivalry between them.
Mr Becker, defending, described Edwards, a dad of one, as "a troubled young man" who suffered from drug and alcohol addiction.
He said: "The defendant was clearly affected on the night by alcohol and ketamine, and has poor recollection, but the footage speaks for itself. He says he has periods where he's OK, and periods where he goes off the rails. He regrettably remains homeless, sofa-surfing.
"The defendant needs help to find stable accommodation. He's in a spiral at the moment. If he found proper accommodation, attended rehabilitation, if he can be assisted by probation and decrease his use of alcohol and drugs, his offending is likely to diminish.
"He's a young man who very clearly needs help, a man who has frail mental health. He's alone in the world, his mum passing away in 2020. He has no family members to support him."
However, Judge Nicholas Williams said a jail term was needed to serve as a "deterrent" to others.
He said: "You were clearly intoxicated, you were slurring your words, you had white power around your nose which you said was ketamine. Fortunately no one was injured, but given the time and location and your intoxication, there was a real risk that this night could have escalated into a situation where someone could have been seriously injured or worse.
"The combination of offences are so serious only a custodial sentence is justified."
Edwards was sentenced to 18 months for threatening someone with a blade, and six months for possession of a blade, to run concurrently. There was no separate penalty issued for the charge of threatening behaviour.
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