Crossbow man is jailed
He wanted police to shoot him
POLICE officers said they feared for their lives after a man repeatedly threatened them with a crossbow.
Robert Samuel called 999 in the early hours of March 26, in which he told operators he was hearing voices in his head and that he was going to kill police.
Five armed response officers responded to the call and went to Burry Street in Llanelli shortly before 3am, where they saw the 27-year-old armed with the loaded crossbow.
Prosecuting, Stephen Rees told Swansea Crown Court: “Officers attempted to defuse the situation.
“They repeatedly asked him to put the weapon down. All five officers feared for their lives, and were aware of previous threats the defendant had made over the phone.
“They established he was drunk, and the crossbow was loaded, which at times he raised and pointed at officers, and refused to disarm.”
Mr Rees said Samuel repeatedly shouted at officers to shoot him, and that shooting him “would put me out of my misery”.
Officers eventually shot Samuel with a rubber bullet, which sent him to the ground, when they were able to approach and arrest him.
They also discovered he had 14 grammes of cannabis on him.
He was taken to hospital under guard, and continued to threaten officers.
In police interview, Samuel, of Heol Bryngwili in Cross Hands, told officers he had no intention of causing harm to any officer, and his actions were “a cry for help” because his mental health had deteriorated.
He was also said to have told his interviewers: “I went out with a crossbow in the hope police would shoot and kill me”.
Mr Rees added that one of the armed officers had subsequently admitted the incident was “easily the most frightening incident I have dealt with, and I feared for my life and that of my colleagues as he pointed the crossbow”.
The court was told Samuel had 25 convictions for 62 offences, including possessing a knife in a public place.
He had also been convicted in January of making similar threats to kill police officers at Cross Hands police station last August.
Mitigating, Helen Randall said the offence had been committed when Samuel was suffering from significant mental health problems which had led him to suicide attempts.
She said: “In interview, the defendant states he contacted emergency services and went out armed with a crossbow in the hope police would kill him, and despite the threats he made he had no intention of harming any police officers”.
She added a probation report had concluded Samuel had not received the co-ordinated healthcare support he should have received since leaving prison earlier this year.
Sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas said: “You rang police to say you were intending to kill police officers, and you were having a mental breakdown. As a result, five armed response officers came to where you were living and saw you walking in the street carrying a fully armed weapon.
“You threatened to kill them with it and refused to put it down. Indeed, you pointed it at them.
“The most important single factor in this case is this; police officers doing their duty were understandably worried about their own lives and safety.
“I accept you have mental health issues and that has been a major factor in your offending, and you feel you have been let down by various agencies and you may have a point about that.
“It seems likely drugs are primarily the cause of your many mental health problems. This was so serious that the time has come to keep you out of the public’s harm for a period of time”.
Samuel had pleaded guilty to making threats to kill, making threats with an offensive weapon, and possession of Class B drugs.
He was jailed for a total of two years, and told he would serve half of that in custody before being released on licence.