WEST YORKSHIRE MAN PARADES STREET WITH WEAPONS AFTER COURT ORDER VIOLATION
A man from West Yorkshire has been jailed after walking through a street armed with a crossbow and an axe, just a day after a court had ordered him to stay away.Michael Horne, 32, had previously hurled objects such as a kettle, toaster, and chopping knife at his partner on October 14 of the previous year.
He was given a two-year community order on October 17 but still returned to his family home in Pontefract to collect clothing.
The next evening, at approximately 6 pm, he came back claiming to have been assaulted.
Prosecutor Maryam Ahmad stated at Leeds Crown Court that Horne began collecting weapons during this visit, prompting his partner to leave.
She told the court that he shouted for her to bring some clothes and started searching for weapons—grabbing an army knife and an axe—which frightened her and her children, leading her to leave the scene.
Horne then went into the front garden yelling at a man before walking into the street with weapons including an axe and a loaded crossbow pistol.
Witnesses noted him running with the weapons and shouting threats such as “Come on Connor, you p****, Connor f****** hurry up.
If you don't come here, I’ll go to your house, your missus, and your kids.” It was revealed that Horne owed money to a drug dealer, and that another man named Connor had assaulted him to settle a debt.
When police arrested him, Horne had facial injuries, claiming he had been attacked and was defending himself.
He pleaded guilty to charges that included affray, possession of a bladed weapon, carrying an offensive weapon, and threatening behavior—accepted as an alternative to a threat to kill.
Horne, who does not have a fixed address, was described as a hard-working family man for most of his life, although his recent drug problems over the past couple of years have caused him to struggle professionally and personally.
Since his arrest in October, he has been in custody for the first time and has been working on education and drug rehabilitation.
Recorder Singh KC sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment, with the first half served in detention before release on license.
