Landlord threatened with axe

An enraged tenant wielded a tomahawk at his landlord after being evicted from his property in Stoke.

Hayden John Schwass, 37, pleaded guilty to charges of threatening behaviour and possessing an offensive weapon when he appeared in the Nelson District Court yesterday.

The victim, a woman with a family of four, owned the house on Main Rd Stoke, with Schwass renting a cabin at the rear of the property.

On September 30, Schwass was served a notice of trespass for the cabin he was living in, due to his increasingly aggressive behaviour at the time.

The victim was already feeling threatened by Schwass, and had brought her father, partner and a friend with her to deliver the trespass notice.

When he received the notice, Schwass immediately became aggressive, telling the victim he had ‘‘a hole already dug for you on the West Coast’’.

Schwass then returned to his cabin and came back out wielding a tomahawk, again saying he had a hole dug for the victim and those with her.

When he began holding the axe in an aggressive manner, the victim and her support members quickly left.

Schwass was arrested soon afterwards.

Judge Richard Russell said Schwass’s offending was particularly serious, leaving the victims feeling frightened for their own safety.

‘‘There is no excuse or justification for this type of behaviour.’’

Judge Russell convicted Schwass on both charges, and remanded him for sentencing on December 17.

[The tenant] immediately became aggressive, telling the victim he had ‘‘a hole already dug for you on the West Coast’’.