Drug-fuelled dad’s threat to burn down his daughter’s nursery
A DRUG-fuelled Derbyshire dad threatened to burn down his young daughter’s nursery and rip his former partner’s head off.
Joshua Stephens told police he would set his dogs on them and throw acid in the face of his former girlfriend.
The 28-year-old then spat over the cage inside a police car taking him into custody to such an extent that it was “running down the window”.
Sending him to prison for six months, Judge Jonathan Bennett said: “The events were pretty horrific for all of those who had to deal with them and the threats were deeply upsetting and frightening for those who heard them.
“You’d had some bad news, you took some drugs and you have got a [criminal] record.”
Eddie Leonard, prosecuting at Derby Crown Court, said the offences happened on August 26. Police were alerted to a domestic incident at Stephens’ address in South Normanton.
Miss Leonard said officers arrived at 12.20pm and the defendant was on the phone to his partner being abusive.
She said: “He was making threats towards his neighbours, calling them ‘grasses’ and ‘snitches’. He went back inside his house and threatened to cut the gas pipe. Police went to the rear of his property and he threatened to set his dogs on them.
“They could see a dog, so retreated and the defendant made good his escape running away but was found at a nearby hotel.” Miss Leonard said officers arrested him but he started spitting in the police car and banging his head so they took him to hospital. There he made a threat to kill his partner saying he would “burn her house down and rip her head off”.
Miss Leonard said: “After having his head glued, he was taken to the police station but continued spitting in the police vehicle. Spit was running down the windows. He then made a threat to burn his daughter’s nursery down.
“In the police cell he continued spitting and banging his head saying he would throw acid in his partner’s face.”
Stephens, of Filigree Close, pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and criminal damage. He has eight convictions for 10 offences including harassment but the last was in 2013 when he was in his early 20s.
Matt Smith, mitigating, said before the offending his client had learned that his ex-partner and daughter had been moved to special accommodation following concerns about her living situation.
He said: “He chose to cope with that by taking MDMA [ecstasy]. He is somebody that has difficulty managing his emotions and on this occasion overreacted in a worrying way.”
Mr Smith said Stephens had already spent more than 70 days in custody which would go towards his sentence.
As well as the jail term, Judge Bennett handed the defendant a restraining order not to go to Filigree Close, South Normanton, for a year.