Welshpool man, 49, jailed after he slashed car tyres

Patrick Andrew Garner, 49, was restrained – but then lunged at a member of the public who intervened.

Garner, of Leighton View, Welshpool, admitted criminal damage and possessing a blade in public – which put him in breach of a suspended prison sentence.

The defendant, who appeared at Mold Crown Court via a television link from prison, was jailed for 16 months for the offences.

He received an additional 30 weeks consecutive for being in breach of the suspended sentence. A restraining order was made not to contact the car owner.

Judge Niclas Parry said that 11 days after he received a suspended sentence for driving while disqualified – his 83rd offence during decades of offending – Garner was brandishing a knife with an eight-inch blade in public.

He was seeking revenge on a person with whom he had been in dispute.

Garner had been seen crouched down by the vehicle and had caused £200 worth of damage to the tyres.

When approached he “brandished that dangerous weapon” and threatened to use it.

At the time, he was heavily intoxicated, “out of control of your senses” and the judge said that the potential for catastrophic consequences was obvious.

Luckily there had been no injuries and three members of the public had come to help and restrain him. But the defendant had lunged at the stomach of one of them, the judge said.

Judge Parry warned that incidents of serious injuries, often unintended, caused by people having knives in the street were far too prevalent.

Garner was a man with serious previous convictions, including threatening to kill, wounding, arson, false imprisonment and robbery, the court heard.

His previous responses to non-custodial sentences had been poor.

Prosecuting barrister Brett Williamson said victim Iwan Callum, 49, was at home on August 12 when he became aware of the defendant damaging his car tyres.

The Astra car was parked a couple of metres from his window and when challenged the defendant threatened to “do” him. With the knife, he followed the owner twice around the car.

The owner was scared for his safety, the defendant appeared drunk, and the complainant was able to punch him and others intervened, said Williamson.

The defendant made “a quick movement” with the knife but the man who had approached was able to quickly move away before twisting his arm and getting him to drop the weapon.

Garner was still struggling and was said to be snarling.

Jonathan Austin, defending, said that the offence was committed when his client was significantly inebriated.

There was a background when his client alleged that he had been assaulted and when he went to the car with the knife was affected by alcohol.

He had been easily disarmed and received something of a beating at the time.

Garner acknowledged that the best thing for him to do when he was free was to move away from the area which Mr Austin said showed a certain level of common sense.