Man’s Stanley knife threat to door staff
AMAN drunkenly waved a Stanley knife at door staff outside a nightclub, warning: “I’m going to get you.”
Kieran Simpson, of Scarisbrick, threatened bouncers at Retro Bar in Southport in the early hours of March 14 before waving the knife at members of the public and then running away.
The dad-of-two had been kicked out of the club, in West Street, at about 3am and claimed he did not realise he had the weapon in his pocket until he was given his coat back.
Once he noticed the weapon, he waved it at bouncers, before directing it at strangers who were also nearby.
Prosecuting, Paul Blasbery told Liverpool Crown Court that Simpson had been knocked to the ground by door staff and “was shouting and swearing to staff and saying ‘I’m going to get you’”.
Daniel Monaghan, who was out with friends that night, witnessed the incident and followed Simpson, 28, when he walked away.
Mr Blasbery said: “Mr Monaghan followed him and found him in a doorway on Scarisbrick Avenue.
“Mr Simpson waved the knife at Mr Monaghan and his friends and ran away.
“Police attended and found the knife in a bin.”
Police then found Simpson in Chapel Street and while searching him found a small amount of cannabis.
In his statement to police, Mr Monaghan said: “I genuinely thought at one point that the male could seriously harm me. He was waving the knife, coming towards me and I was terrified he would harm me.”
Defending, Adam White said that Simpson lived on a boat at Scarisbrick Marina, where he had been using the knife earlier that day.
He said he had forgotten it was in his pocket and had only brandished it to keep people away from him.
Mr White explained that Simpson has twin children, and will soon become dad to more twins with the same woman, from whom he is now subject of a restraining order.
He also helps care for his grandfather, who submitted a letter to the court explaining that his grandson used to be a “thug” but in recent years had started to turn his life around.
Judge Louise Brandon told Simpson, who has previous convictions for carrying offensive weapons, that she did not believe there was a realistic chance of rehabilitation and that custody was therefore inevitable.
Factoring in his guilty pleas, she jailed him for 18 months.