AN Anderton man who was tasered by police after a row with his dad spiralled out of control has been jailed.
Timothy Howell, of no fixed abode, had been at his parents' Bramhalls Park address on Sunday, November 26, despite being banned by a restraining order.
An argument broke out between Howell and his father before the 29-year-old reached for a bread knife in his parents' kitchen.
Police were called after he threatened his parents with the knife, before he turned it on himself.
When officers arrived, Howell, who suffers from mental health problems including psychosis, was sitting on the stairs with the knife.
He started to cut himself again, so the officers fired a Taser at him and took him into custody.
Howell had been banned from entering Bramhalls Park after being convicted of two counts of assault and one of criminal damage at the house in December last year.
He was handed a community order with 100 days unpaid work, which also included a one-year restraining order, by Warrington magistrates on January 11.
After this latest incident, Howell was brought before Chester magistrates on Tuesday, November 28, charged with breaching a restraining order.
Defending, Selina Woodward told the court Howell had been arrested for an unrelated offence on Friday, November 24, but was released at 2am the following morning.
He’d spoken to his mum on the phone who asked him to come to the Bramhalls Park address by taxi, as he’d been living in a car, which he did.
Howell said from the dock she’d ‘begged him’ to return home.
He stayed at Bramhalls Park until Sunday, November 26, before the argument with his dad broke out, and police had to be called.
Miss Woodward told the court Howell thought the restraining order didn’t apply if he was invited to the house.
She added he’d complied fully with the order since it was made in January, and it is due to expire in just over a month.
The court heard also from a probation officer, who said Howell had been out of contact with them for a long time, having missed 12 out of 29 appointments, including nine unauthorised absences.
The chairman of the bench said Howell’s was a ‘deliberate and wilful breach’ and sentenced him to eight weeks in prison.
He also revoked the community order for the assaults and criminal damage in December 2022, and sentenced Howell to a further two weeks for each offence, to be served consecutively, taking his total sentence to 14 weeks in prison.
He was also ordered to pay £134 victim surcharge.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here