Yahoo News Drunken dad who threatened to cut throats of teens told police: 'If you guys hadn't showed up, I would have killed them'
A drunken dad threatened to slice open the throats of a group of teenagers and warned them that he would kill them after he believed that they were aiming abusive comments at him in the street.
Christopher Sellers pulled out the blade of a multi-tool during the nasty confrontation and he later told police that it was a good job that they had turned up because he would have killed the youngsters. But he needed to be careful who he threatened in future otherwise someone might "fill him in", Hull Crown Court heard.
Sellers, 58, of Albion Terrace, Bridlington, admitted threatening a person with a knife on May 26.
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Annabelle Coakley, prosecuting, said that Sellers got into an argument with a group of teenagers in Promenade Gardens, Bridlington. One of them, aged 14, had been joking with a friend and jokingly told the pal to "f*** off".
Sellers was on the opposite side of the road at a bus stop and he crossed over and approached them. He pulled a multi-tool out of his coat pocket, unfolded the blade and waved it in the direction of the group, saying: "I'll f***ing stab you." He told the teenagers that he would slice their throats open.
One of the teenagers told him to go away and called Sellers an alcoholic. Sellers repeatedly went up to them with the knife and the incident was seen by an off-duty police officer, who alerted colleagues.
Sellers made what was interpreted as a threat and he was intimidating. Police used a Taser to detain Sellers but it was not fully activated. He complied and dropped the multi tool.
Father-of-four Sellers told police: "If you guys hadn't showed up, I would have killed them." During police interview, he admitted that he had said this but said that he would not actually have done this and he would not have killed them.
He admitted that he had been drinking and claimed that the teenagers had been "behaving like scrotes". He claimed that he had been trying to scare them off but had little memory of the incident. He had convictions for three previous offences.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said that Sellers knew that he needed to be punished for the confrontation involving the teenagers. "This was an unpleasant incident," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
"He was in drink. He is alcohol dependent. He is remorseful." Sellers had suffered problems linked to his drinking.
Judge Mark Bury told Sellers: "I don't think you would have committed this offence if you had been sober. I don't think for a minute that you meant what you said to the police when they turned up.
"You must understand that you can't go around carrying a knife and start getting it out and threatening people. One of these days, you will threaten someone who will fill you in. You have really got to watch it.
"You heard a 14-year-old boy being abusive. He says he was talking to a friend of his that he was with. You thought that he was talking to you. I suspect that you thought there might be trouble to you from him.
"What you did next was clearly wholly inappropriate and inexcusable – and behaviour which could easily get you into prison. You went across the road and you produced this multi tool and pulled the blade out and threatened to stab him with it.
"I don't believe for a minute that you would have done. It's an indication of how drunk you were and how you misunderstood the situation.
"You say that you have seen this boy in town and you have apologised to him. I hope that's true because you have plenty to apologise for."
Sellers was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, 20 days' rehabilitation and six months' alcohol treatment.
