A thug who smashed his neighbour's windows celebrated outside court after he was spared jail.
Darryl Jones wielded a golf club above his head while threatening to smash a neighbour's windows and saying ‘I want to f*** your face’. Despite being arrested, he returned a month later and followed through on his threat.
The 57-year-old's lawyer told Liverpool Magistrates’ Court he had initially acted in retaliation following false accusations of burglary, while the second occasion he wrongly believed his neighbour, Salam Hassan, had smashed his windows, the Liverpool ECHO reports.
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Philip Lea, defending, said: "He accepts there is no excuse for the way he behaved and he should not have taken matters into his own hands. Anger got the better of him."
The court heard the first incident took place on May 30 when Mr Hassan saw Jones outside his home in Claremont Road, Seaforth, Merseyside, and heard him threatening to “smash all your windows". He went outside and Jones was swearing at him and shouted at him: "Hang on a minute, I’ll be back".
Scott Woodward, prosecuting, said: “The defendant walked to his address in the same road and then returned to the property with a golf club raising it above his head with both hands saying, ‘I want to f*** your face’.”
Jones again threatened to smash his windows and the victim rang 999. The police arrived and arrested Jones and when interviewed he admitted the offences.
Mr Woodward said that on at 1.30am on July 3, Mr Hassan "reported his downstairs front windows had been smashed by a male brandishing a golf club". Jones was waving the golf club "around the property and in the street".
Jones pleaded guilty to criminal damage; possessing an offensive weapon, threatening to damage the victim’s windows, threatening behaviour and having a golf club intending to cause damage. The court heard he has 17 previous convictions for 25 offences including battery and possessing a knife.
Mr Lea said Jones is “remorseful and embarrassed". Adding: "He acknowledges that drink played a part and he acted appallingly.”
The first incident happened after he had wrongly been accused of burglary and the second because his own windows had been smashed and he wrongly thought that Mr Hassan had done it. Jones was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 days rehabilitation activities.
The magistrates ordered him to pay £100 compensation plus court costs of £239 and they imposed an 18 month restraining order. As Jones left court he was seen celebrating with his hands above his head.
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