A convicted killer threatened to blow up a block of flats and told police he 'had his bombs ready'. Thomas Carl Hughes, who has paranoid schizophrenia, told officers that the explosives would be "activated" if they tried to force their way into his Cardiff flat.
The 46-year-old was previously sentenced to life in prison in 1995 for the murder of shop employee Duncan Clarke. The victim been trying to stop the then 19-year-old Hughes from stealing a £5.99 Lego set from a Littlewoods store when the offender stabbed him to death on November 10, 1994.
Horrified Christmas shoppers watched on as hero churchgoer Mr Clarke, who ran the baggage section of the store, threw himself in between the knifeman and a terrified grandmother, suffering the full brunt of the attack. Doctors operated on him for eight hours in a desperate bid to save his life, but he sadly died a short time later, Wales Online reports.
Following his release in 2012 Hughes has continued to experience severe delusions. He appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday after admitting threats to cause an explosion at his block of flats in Beechley Drive, Fairwater. Wearing a black Calvin Klein jacket and blue jeans as he entered the dock he waved hello to his psychiatrist Dr Tom Wynne.
Prosecutor Claire Pickthall said the explosion threats came at around 6.30pm on July 7 last year when police attended to speak with Hughes about an unrelated matter. The defendant was living on the middle floor of the three-storey building.
Ms Pickthall said: "The defendant came to the door but refused to open it, telling officers he had booby traps and a bomb would be activated if they forced entry. He said: 'I've got my bombs ready and I'll blow the building up.'"
More senior officers attended after Hughes said: "Maybe negotiators should come. I've done this sort of stuff in the past." Some 20 officers and 12 police vehicles came on the scene as resources were "stretched to the point it was impossible to cover other emergency calls", the prosecutor told the court.
Hughes, who has a history of supporting Nazis, told police he was being "fitted up" and said they should "have a look at my past". He then asked if the building was being evacuated and appeared "annoyed" that his threats were not being taken seriously, according to police.
The incident lasted around two hours. Although police said they heard knives being sharpened Hughes eventually removed the barricade he had placed behind his door and allowed police to arrest him. He told them he had concerns about being recalled to prison and felt he was being "fitted up". He claimed he would never have carried out the threats.
Hughes has 15 previous offences on his record. They include false imprisonment, burglaries, affray, criminal damage, and possession of a weapon.
Dr Wynne, a forensic psychiatrist at the Caswell Clinic in Bridgend, spoke about the treatment Hughes has recently been receiving as an inpatient at the medium-security psychiatric hospital. He said Hughes experiences delusions about "probation services, courts, and healthcare teams" when he is unwell.
Judge Michael Fitton QC said Hughes had abused animals as a child. At the age of four he set fire to his teddy bear and a shed. When he was seven he developed an interest in the devil. And at the age of 11 he assaulted other children including a girl. By his late teens he was injecting amphetamines.
After being jailed for murder he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and exhibited "very disturbed" behaviour including hitting an Afro-Caribbean man over the head with a pool cue in an unprovoked attack. Around this time he said Adolf Hitler was his "hero" and declared himself a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan. Much of his jail term was spent in a mental hospital.
Dr Wynne said prison is a place that "does him real harm". During periods in prison Hughes has refused medication, his stutter has become more pronounced, and he has "blanked" staff and shown "intolerance" to women. "Stress triggers a relapse in his psychotic illness," said the psychiatrist.
Following his latest offence Hughes has been staying at the Caswell Clinic where he has "responded well" to treatment and is "much more stable", said Dr Wynne. He added: "If released without any proper accommodation or support there would be concern he could relapse, maybe stop taking medication, and not engage with mental health services."
Judge Fitton told Hughes: "Ultimately it's of interest to me that the public is protected by you being medicated well." He imposed an indefinite hospital order. Hughes will continue to be detained at the Caswell Clinic.
Following the horrific murder of Mr Clarke in 1994 the victim's mother Maureen Clarke, from Lancashire, admitted she had been left scared to even pick up a blade following her son's murder. "I'm a cook and I have to work with knives but I was frightened to pick one up after Duncan's death," she said in a subsequent interview.
Mrs Clarke and husband Brian, from Lancashire, met in May 1995 with grandmother Carole Gardner who credited Duncan Clarke with saving her life through his courage on the day he was killed. She had been browsing in the Littlewoods branch when Hughes ran towards her with a knife in his hand.
Duncan Clarke, 34, pushed her out of the way and was knifed in the side by Hughes. Speaking in May 1995 Mrs Gardner, then aged 52 and of Tylorstown, Rhondda, said: "I owe my life to Duncan Clarke. If he had not pushed me out of the way I know it would have been me that was stabbed.
"It has changed my life so much. I think about him every day and the way he saved me before himself. After Duncan's death I went through a terrible time. I felt unable to go out or walk down the street. But I am over that now and I appreciate life that little bit more. If I am ever having a down day I think of Duncan's bravery and it picks me up."
Following the emotional meeting Mrs Clarke, then 59, said: "I am so glad to have met Carole. It has helped us a lot to know what Duncan did and that he did not die in vain."
The family were inundated with more than 300 cards from well-wishers all over the country following the tragedy and dad Brian said in December 1994: "He was a very caring son. People have described him as a little man with a big heart which was very true."
When he opened the case for the prosecution at Hughes' murder trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court barrister John Rees told the jury of nine women and three men, who ultimately returned with a unanimous guilty verdict after less than two hours of deliberation, that the victim "was stabbed callously and cynically by Hughes as he tried to escape capture". The prosecutor added that Mr Clarke had "died a hero".
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