Woman made threat to slice teen’s throat

AWOMAN who threatened to ‘slice’ a teenage boy ‘ear to ear’ with a kitchen knife in Runcorn has been given a ‘chance’ to mend her ways.

Rebecca Christine Lowe, 26, of Rose Close, Murdishaw, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday where she was given a suspended prison sentence.

Simon Mintz, prosecuting, recounted how Lowe’s partner James Slater had approached the boy, aged 16 at the time, at 11am on May 13 last year, and accused him of smashing their car window with a brick.

The teenager, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, was ‘very distressed’ and ran off and used his mobile phone to ring his mother, who described him as ‘crying and hyperventilating’.

He then saw Lowe at a bus stop ‘beckoning him over’, but he was ‘afraid’ and went home, only to find Slater’s Vauxhall Vectra parked outside.

Mr Mintz said a neighbour had seen Lowe and Slater looking up and down a nearby alley and were looking for the teenager ‘to get him’.

The youth then spotted Lowe shouting ‘you’ve been bricking my window, you’re going to get sliced from ear to ear’.

Someone else

Lowe’s blade.

Mr Mintz said: “The complainant didn’t see saw the knife himself, but a neighbour did and saw her get the knife out of the passenger side of the Vectra.

“It was a nine-inch kitchen knife, a nine-inch blade with a black handle.

“A similar blade was seized from the defendant’s home when arrested.”

A neighbour who had been taking two children to nursery saw what was happening and tried to speak to Lowe, who told her ‘I don’t care’ and was generally abusive.

Slater shouted that he was ‘going to rob his (the boy’s) house’.

The boy went inside and the couple drove off.

Lowe replied ‘no comment’ in police interview and later pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words intended to cause fear of violence, and having a blade in public.

Mr Mintz said the boy, in his victim statement, said was ‘really upset’ by the incident and ‘was too scared for a while to go outside’.

Judge Steven Everett, Honorary Recorder Of Chester, indicated that he intended to pass a suspended sentence based on Lowe’s close co-operation with probation and having stayed out of trouble since the incident.

Mark Shanks, defending, welcomed the judge’s indications and said there were no objections to the proposed restraining order.

Recorder Everett sentenced Lowe to 10 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, along with a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement and he also imposed a restraining order.

He warned Lowe that carrying knives is a serious matter, because knives are ‘always loaded’ and that there is ‘always a risk of serious or fatal injury’.

During his sentencing remarks, he said: “I often say to defendants who appear before me, with a knife – knives are always loaded, not like a gun where you have to put a bullet in the chamber to fire it.

“I’m prepared to accept you didn’t take a knife to the scene to use it, but if you have a knife in circumstances for example in public and you threaten somebody with it and that person comes at you and it’s truly terrifying.”

Slater, 33, received a community order in connection with the incident on February 13 at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court.

He was ordered to complete a 28-day accredited programme plus a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement, plus 40 hours unpaid work.

Slater also received a restraining order not to approach the youth, and was told to pay £200 in compensation, a £92 victim surcharge, and £300 in prosecution costs after being convicted at trial having denied the single offence on his indictment, namely using threatening, insulting or abusive words or behaviour intended to cause fear of violence.

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