A Mamba-using neighbour threw a homemade petrol bomb into one garden and discharged a taser towards a resident. Jamie Hutchinson is unlikely to ever return to the once-troubled neighbourhood of Beckingham Court, Mansfield, after a series of disturbing incidents.
As he faces sentencing for attempted arson and possessing an offensive weapon - the taser - Judge Stuart Rafferty QC said: "If he goes back there, they will probably raise the bunting temporarily and then set it on fire". His comments come after Hutchinson was arrested after he was found in a neighbour's garden smashing a sofa with a machete and hacking at a fence. The taser was found charging near his bed, Nottingham Crown Court heard, which he had in case he was burgled.
More worryingly items were found at his property; including six throwing knives, a sword, a fuse cord for making the bomb, a dart firer, mini crossbows and darts, two more crossbows, mini cannon, fuse and black powder, lock knife, petrol can and dart caps. The shock discovery came after Hutchinson had thrown the unlit bomb into a neighbour's garden in Beckingham Court on March 2, 2021.
The resident, who lived in a bungalow surrounded by a high fence, thought a plastic bottle in his garden was litter and he went to dispose of it. But he found it was the homemade bomb. He viewed his CCTV and described seeing Hutchinson in his window for a short time.
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About 10 miniutes later, the CCTV showed an item being thrown and landing in his garden. The man, previously threatened by Hutchinson with a crossbow, also found a glass bottle with a fuse.
"He said he was terrified he could be seriously hurt from the incidents and wanted them to stop," explained Abi Joyce, prosecuting on Friday, April 6. "He suffers from mental health issues and this behaviour, from the defendant, was making matters much worse".
Another neighbour, who lived in a flat, said he had a number of problems with the defendant making threats when he was taking his dog outside. On March 3 the man was home schooling his 12-year-old daughter during the pandemic.
He heard shouting outside and the defendant accused him of spitting on his car, and he would, "get him for it". He denied he had spat on Hutchinson's car.
Then the defendant knocked at his door and swore at him and lunged towards him with the taser, which crackled. The man managed to force his door shut. The taser was discharged but did not hit him.
Miss Joyce said: "He didn't initially report the matter. The evidence was if he just kept quiet about it and did not do anything about it, things would calm down. He next saw the defendant when letting his dog out. The defendant threw his head back and spat at him. He said, 'there you go, that's what you get for spitting on someone's car. You will need a Covid test. Don't go back inside your house without a test'".
Angered, the man was concerned about giving his elderly parents the deadly virus. He went for a Covid test and reported what happened to police. Hutchinson went on to plead guilty to attempted arson and having the taser, which Judge Rafferty ordered the destruction of.
The other weapons in his home were not charged as an offence but the judge made a deprivation order to cover those. He said: "This was a collection amassed by the defendant at a time when he was particularly mentally unwell and clearly had a persecution complex, hence the need, in his judgement, to obtain such material".
Hutchinson, 38, committed an arson when he was 12 years old. He was in breach of a conditional discharge for an offence of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. The judge said Hutchinson had served the equivalent of a two-year sentence in custody but adjourned until April 29 for alternative accommodation to be found.
