A man left his father terrified after holding up a Stanley knife to his neck and threatening to slash him "from ear to ear".
Stuart Doughty went to his dad's home in the early hours of April 19, this year, and carried out the frightening offence, before threatening to take his own life and saying, "it's either you or me". Durham Crown Court heard the incident left his father "absolutely petrified".
Doughty, of Firtree, Shildon, appeared at the court on Friday to be sentenced for threatening a person with a bladed article in a private place. The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge at a previous hearing.
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Christopher Bevan, prosecuting, said Doughty went to the home of his father at around 12.20am on April 19, and "appeared to be under the influence of alcohol". He said: "He was banging on the window and his father told him to go away. He then picked up a brick and threatened to smash the window if he didn't let him in. His father opened the door and had a conversation with his son about the issues in their relationship and the defendant calmed down and went away. But he came back later and returned with a small blade and threatened to slash his father from ear to ear and placed it against his neck."
Fortunately, his father managed to grab hold of him, with the court being told Doughty said he could "see the fear in him" and told him, 'what's the matter, are you going to have another heart attack?'. Doughty then threatened to kill himself, telling his father, 'It's either you or me'.
Mr Bevan said Doughty then placed the knife against his own neck and told his father to "push down on it", before he began to self-harm. He later handed the knife to his father and he was arrested soon after.
The court was told Doughty's father had "red marks" on his neck caused by the knife, and he later said the incident left him "absolutely petrified", saying he "feared for his life" and had "never felt so frightened".
The court heard Doughty had four previous convictions for six offences, including possession of a knife and criminal damage. In July, last year, he was given a suspended sentence for threatening behaviour. He was in breach of that sentence at the time of the April offence.
Tabitha Buck, defending, said Doughty had indicated his guilty plea in the lower court and said he suffered from "depression and anxiety". She said: "On reflection, that's the accumulation of the domestic abuse he witnessed as a child and he accepts his offending behaviour is from the misuse of alcohol." She added he had a "sporadic offending history" and said he had previously referred himself to a mental health team.
Sentencing him, Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, said Doughty "held a Stanley knife to your father's neck" while intoxicated. He jailed him for 16 months and imposed a five year restraining order.
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