Man terrorised his neighbours
face. She saw the defendant, saw the knife in one hand and a crowbar in the other.
"Clearly,becauseoftheprevious incident, she was frightened when she saw him.
"She went towards her car and describes the defendant approached her, screaming and gesticulating, weapons raised above his head."
Thecourtheardthewoman moved away from the scene in her car and Rutter "charged" towards another resident and threw the knife at his vehicle, causing damage.
Miss Atkinson said the residents described being "extremely frightened", "absolutely petrified", "terrified" and"distressed"byRutter's"bizarre" behaviour.
Glenn Gatland, defending, saidRutterhadleadarelatively "blameless" life working for a constructioncompanybuthad "self medicated" with cocaine due to personal problems.
Mr Gatland added: "Since the COVID lockdown, he couldn't continue working, he had no work, he was in a small flat, he had no garden, he had nothing to do.
"He was living on his own and the matters just began to go around and around inside his head and as a consequence of that he then had some drink and he started taking cocaine again.Theresultofthecocaine and drink then led him to believe on that night that people were trying to kidnap him so he armed himself to stop his perceived kidnappers and he set the fire alarm to try and get peopleoutsothattheycouldn't kidnap him.”
Rutter pleaded guilty to affray,criminaldamage,possessing an offensive weapon and possessing a bladed article.
Mr Recorder Craig Hassall sentenced him to 26 months behind bars with a five-year restraining order.