Judge tells ‘immature’ dad, ‘you need to grow up’
HE THREATENED MUM WITH KNIFE AFTER CLIMBING THROUGH WINDOW
AN ‘IMMATURE’ first time dad was told he needs to ‘grow up’ by a judge after he climbed in through his mum’s window and threatened her with a knife.
Remeiko Smith, 20, turned up at his mum’s house in Cheetham Hill when she had opened the window to let the cat out.
Claiming he had nowhere else to go, Smith reached into the window and unlocked it to open it further, then climbed in, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Smith, of Moston, then started pacing between the living room and kitchen ‘ranting and shouting’ and was described as being ‘frenzied’ and called his mum a ‘grass’.
It was said she had previously called the police following an altercation where he acted violently towards her.
He then armed himself with a kitchen knife and told her to give him her phone so he could call his girlfriend, saying: “if you call the police I will stab you”.
It wasn’t until later that his brother, who had earlier been asleep in his room, had alerted the police and Smith was arrested.
Smith pleaded guilty to two offences of common assault and was sentenced to a four-month electronically monitored curfew, stating he must stay at his girlfriend’s address between 9pm and 7am.
Prosecuting, Rachel Widdicombe told the court that Smith’s mum is disabled and had regular issues with her son since he was a teenager, saying she didn’t want him at her house because he had a bad temper, was violent and she was scared of him.
In a victim personal statement read to the court, Smith’s mum said she felt ‘constantly on edge’ and she worries about what will come next. “I believe he could hurt me, it’s only a matter of time,” she said.
His brother also said: “I genuinely feared for my life, I thought he was going to stab me.”
Smith was said to have ten previous convictions for 20 offences including battery, assaulting police officers and most recently using violence to secure entry to his mum’s house, which saw him sentenced to an 18-month community order.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Dan Gaskell said: “His partner has given birth to their son on the day of his 20th birthday.
“His view is that he brought this upon himself and if a restraining order is sought, he is not going to oppose the making of such an order.”
Sentencing him to a four-month curfew, Recorder Nicholas Clarke QC said: “You are an immature 20-year-old who needs to grow up. You have fathered a son who you are responsible for, not only to care for and provide, but for an example you need to set. “I hope you will grow up quickly.” Smith, of Alloway Walk, was also made the subject of a restraining order, banning him from contacting his mother or brother for three years.