Yahoo News He pulled a steak knife from his pocket and said to girlfriend 'it's you, me, or both of us'
The "youngest bus driver in the country" has been sent to a young offenders' institute.
Kaylum Weaver brandished a steak knife during a row with his girlfriend and chillingly threatened "you're going tonight". A judge yesterday told him that "very serious consequences could have followed" after he armed himself and urged her to "drop the charges" against him in relation to an earlier incident.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday that the 20-year-old had been with his partner Nikita Clark for around two years before his depression "put a strain on the relationship". She met up with Weaver, of Beechill Close in Gateacre, on the evening of April 10 this year but returned home and blocked his phone number as he was said to have been "looking for an argument".
Derek Jones, prosecuting, described how Ms Clark then received around 30 calls from a withheld number before seeing him outside her address later that night, letting the tyres of her car down before being driven away by a friend. He was arrested following this incident but subsequently released on bail with conditions not to contact his now estranged girlfriend.
However, on April 20, Weaver phoned and messaged the 23-year-old urging her to "drop the charges against him". He also told her that he had changed the details of her vehicle's log book to add himself as the owner.
Ms Clark then visited the defendant at his home address, and the couple began talking outside in her car. Weaver "continued to ask her to drop the charges", but she refused and asked him to get out.
But he responded by pulling a steak knife from his coat pocket and saying: "You're going tonight. It's you, me or both of us."
Ms Clark recorded their conversation, and Weaver was captured adding: "Leave the bail conditions, but drop the case. I'll end it now."
Lionel Greig, defending, told the court that his client had suffered from mental health issues following his grandad's death in the autumn of 2023 and said: "This is a young man who was struggling with his emotions. He is clearly not proud of his actions.
"The defendant accepts that what he has done is wrong. He should not have behaved as he did.
"This is a man with no previous convictions and who has never been in trouble with the criminal justice system before. There are very clearly issues to address."
Weaver admitted making threats to kill, making threats with a bladed article, witness intimidation and stalking. He was locked up for 16 months and given a five-year restraining order.
Sentencing, Recorder David Knifton KC said: "The relationship really entered difficulties following the death of your grandfather, which appears to have exacerbated mental health issues from which you suffered. She became concerned about your behaviour, which became increasingly manipulative.
"I am told that, at the time, you were the youngest bus driver in the country. You are described as a smart, driven and decent young man and an academic high achiever who chose not to go to university and to seek employment instead.
"You are considered to be emotionally immature. Your conduct in taking a knife from your home to meet her was carefully planned and deeply manipulative.
"Although you express regret, you have sought to minimise your actions and blame your victim. You were clearly under the influence of alcohol and in possession of a knife, and very serious unintended consequences could have followed."
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