Sentencing deferred for Wellesbourne man who threatened to 'shank' another man with knife

Benjamin Davies had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to possessing a bladed article in Cherry Orchard, Wellesbourne.

But after hearing that Davies, 33, of Selwyn Close, Wellesbourne, had physical and mental health problems, Judge Peter Cooke deferred sentence for five months.

Prosecutor Ian Speed said that in March last year a man and his girlfriend were in Cherry Orchard when Davies, armed with a knife, approached them.

He threatened to ‘shank’ the man who bravely pushed him away, said Mr Speed, who commented: “It must have been frightening for him and for his girlfriend.”

The police were called, and when they went to Davies’s home they found him in the garden with a baseball bat, and the knife he had brandished Mr Speed added that Davies had convictions for dishonesty but his only matter relating to violence had been for a public order offence in 2007.

After reading a report on Davies, Judge Peter Cooke observed: “This is a gentleman with chronic health problem, both physical and mental.

“He has been out of trouble since this episode, and the recommendation is that he’s dealt with in the community with a mental health treatment requirement.”

Simon Hunka, defending, confirmed that Davies had ‘a number of difficulties,’ and he was due to undergo a mental health assessment in February.

Judge Cooke said: “An option might be to defer sentence, and I will see him again after he has had his assessment. My intention is to find a way of providing him with structured help for his difficulties.

“I will deal with this matter, I hope, in a constructive fashion.”

Deferring sentence until March and granting Davies bail, Judge Cooke told him: “All I am asking of you is that you are to stay out of trouble, and I want you to carry on engaging with the medical professionals who are trying to help you.”