Wallsend man threatened member of public with knife and chillingly shouted 'I will kill you'
by Sara Nichol · ChronicleLiveA man threatened a random member of public with a knife while shouting "I will stab you, I will kill you".
Gordon Douglas was armed with the blade when he approached the victim, who was sat in a van, and thrust it through the open driver's window. A court heard that the 54-year-old shouted the chilling threats before a brave woman arrived on the scene and managed to calmly talk him into dropping the weapon.
The police were called and Douglas, of Willow Avenue, in Wallsend, was arrested. He appeared in the dock at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court less than 24 hours later to plead guilty to threatening a person with a bladed article and affray.
Paul Anderson, prosecuting, said the victim, who was unknown to Douglas, was sitting in his van on October 21 when he was approached by him and threatened with the kitchen knife. He added: "He raises the knife to his shoulders and puts it through the open window and points it near the face of [the victim] and says "I will stab you, I will kill you"."
The court heard that a woman, who appeared to know Douglas, then approached the scene and tried to get him to drop the weapon. Mr Anderson continued: "He initially refuses to put the knife down and says he's going to hurt someone.
"The lady manages to calm him down and averts something that could have been more serious by getting him to put the knife in a bin." Magistrates were told that the police were flagged down and told where Douglas lived and he was later arrested.
Mark Styles, defending, said Douglas was remorseful, had mental health issues and struggled with an alcohol addiction. He added: "He doesn't understand why he left the house with a knife. He's absolutely horrified here about how he's behaved."
Magistrates adjourned the case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report and to see whether Douglas was suitable for an alcohol treatment requirement. He was remanded in custody to next appear at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court on October 31.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community