Man called police 'little maggots' after threatening to shoot them with fake gun

A man smashed up his own Jaguar before threatening to shoot police officers with a fake gun and calling them "little maggots".

Jay Williams brandished a crowbar towards nightclub staff before engaging in a nine-hour stand off with officers. It came after he began "hearing voices telling him that people were laughing at him".

Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Wednesday, that the 22-year-old had been drinking in Platinum Bar, on Conway Street in Birkenhead, in the early hours of March 16 this year. At around 2am, he left the premises and "appeared agitated" before approaching his blue Jaguar car and taking the metal bar from the boot.

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Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, described how Williams, of Alexandra Road in Birkenhead, used this weapon to threaten both employees and members of the public. He then smashed the rear window of his own vehicle before leaving the scene.

This led to Merseyside Police attending his home at around 2.45am. At this, Williams ran inside the property before appearing at the window and shouting to officers: "I am going to shoot you.

"You f***ing maggot. I would rather put a bullet in your head."

Negotiators subsequently attended alongside Williams' ex-partner. The police then raided the address, which sparked him to add: "You're gonna get yourselves killed."

He was subsequently seen at the window again with what appeared to be a black handgun in his right hand, pointing the item towards PCs and threatening to shoot them as well as throwing objects towards them. Williams demanded that they leave and said: "I don't wanna kill someone.

"Get a proper negotiator down here you little maggot. I wanna die, I'm gonna put a bullet in someone's head."

Williams eventually placed his hands on his head and walked out of his flat shortly before 11.30am, after which he was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital due to concerns over his mental health. The weapon was then seized and found to be a BB gun.

Under interview, he told detectives in a prepared statement that he had "heard voices in his head and thought his medication had caused him to lose control". Williams added that the voices "tell him people are laughing at him and sometimes tell him to harm people".

He has a total of five previous convictions for 15 offences, including arson in 2020. John Weate, defending, told the court: "This will be his first custodial sentence.

"There is no excuse for the behaviour of the defendant on this occasion, and he accepts that. But relevant is the fact that this is a young man who went through the special education system.

"This is a young man who, aged two, was taken into care for real and genuinely traumatic reasons. When taken into care, he suffered similar experiences that led him into care in the first place.

"It was only when he was fostered by a family who showed him the time, devotion and perhaps love that he never had that he started to bond with adults. Sadly, his foster father - with whom he was particularly close - passed away in 2017.

"Following on from that, the defendant's life deteriorated in a rapid way. He wants support in relation to the drug and alcohol issues which clearly exist in his life.

"He regrets his behaviour. He has demonstrated deep remorse.

"This is a defendant with an inability to regulate his emotions. That has been made worse with his use of alcohol and controlled substances.

"It cannot explain the affray at Platinum Bar. He is actually embarrassed as far as that is concerned.

"He knows the people there. He has asked me, in relation to the whole incident, to apologise for his behaviour.

"The BB gun which he himself painted black was there because, at that point in time, he felt as though he was under threat from others - not for reasons associated with drugs or anything of that type, but because of his involvement in a previous offence. Given the unstable nature of his position that night, it would be my position that this was a spontaneous set of circumstances that occurred.

"It went on for a considerable length of time. There was, in my submission, no real intent to cause injury to anyone.

"The defendant has come to a crossroads in his life. He has had time to reflect as far as this behaviour is concerned."

Williams admitted making use of an imitation firearm with intent to resist arrest, making threats to kill and affray. Appearing via video link, he puffed his cheeks out and nodded as he was jailed for four years.

Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: "It was, in fact, a BB gun. But at that time, in the heightened circumstances of you shouting and screaming threats, they took that at face value as a real weapon.

"They had every reason to do so, because you had taken steps to make it look more realistic by painting it black at some stage. One can only imagine the stress and fear of those officers being made to evacuate the premises by a person inside, threatening violence and in possession of what to their eyes was a real handgun.

"What transpired was a stand off between you shouting threats and threatening to shoot and put bullets in the police and other occupants of your flat. Attempts were made to reason with you for many hours.

"It was only nine or 10 hours after the incident began that you finally surrendered. This was, therefore, a complex and highly stressful incident for the police to manage.

"They really did fear for their personal safety. Knowing you were susceptible to episodes like this, you drank alcohol to the extent that it affected your psychiatric condition.

"I am sure, now sober and able to reflect upon your behaviour, that you realise the enormity of what you did, and I am sure that the remorse you know show is genuine. It may not have been your intention to actually harm any officers who came to that address that night, but that was not how the officers took it and nor did your behaviour betray any intention other than to cause serious harm."

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