A man shouted “you f****** little rat, watch what happens now” before running into a hardware store and brandishing an axe during a fight in a town centre.
Edward Williams, 30, was leaving a barbershop in Prescot town centre in February when he noticed a man walking down the street, with the two men immediately squaring up to fight. Moments later, CCTV footage showed Williams, of Prescot, running into a hardware store situated behind him and emerging holding an axe.
Prosecutor Joanne Moore told the court how Williams shouted “you f****** little rat, watch what happens now” before running into the store to grab the weapon. The CCTV footage shows Williams then swinging the axe in the direction of the man, but does not connect with any blows.
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After the other man fled the scene, Williams then hands the axe back to the shopkeeper who had come out onto the high street. Ms Moore noted how only one man was under threat with the axe at the time, with members of the public seen walking along the road during time of the incident.
Williams pleaded guilty to affray and possession of an offensive weapon in August of this year. The court was told that Williams had relevant past convictions which included possession of a bladed article in public in 2014, for which he was handed a community order - which was broken in its early stages before a phase of compliance.
Defending, Charles Lander noted the eight years between the two offences and said that Williams had a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation” and had no intention to use violence on anyone else but that one male.
The court heard that the male who Williams threatened was connected to a “gang” which had “terrorised the defendant for 13 years.” Mr Lander said that Williams was the victim of robbery in 2009 and still has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder “as a result of that incident”.
Mr Lander said the brandishing of the axe was an “unpleasant” offence but pointed towards William’s diagnosis of ADHD and "social anxieties". It was heard that Williams had attempted to move to Pembrokeshire but returned to Prescot and that he had “stayed out of trouble and tried to live a law abiding lifestyle.”
Summarising the case, Judge Eric Lamb referenced William’s “poor reaction” to a community order in 2014 and noted his issues with alcohol and drugs. He said his “initial compliance was poor” under the community order but did “turn this around” - noting there was “strong personal mitigation” put forward by Mr Lander.
But Judge Lamb said that this was the second occasion of Williams “taking to the public with a weapon". He said Williams had ”good reason to be angry having been attacked by the gang”, but drew reference to the fact “Williams had the axe in a town centre by day with many people about.”
Williams was sentenced to six months in prison for one count of affray and possession of an offensive weapon.
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