Jail for knife threat former soldierA FORMER soldier who threatened a taxi driver with a knife, causing him to crash into a wall of the Wilton Estate home of Lord Pembroke has been jailed for six months.
Nicholas Bawn, 26, and a 16-year-old boy were in a taxi travelling to Salisbury from Tisbury in April last year when the driver thought he saw the older man pass a hammer to the teenager.
The pair had both been drinking and the boy said he felt ill and asked for the taxi to be stopped but the driver, worried about the hammer, refused and carried on.
Bawn, who was in the front passenger seat, then held a five inch knife to the driver’s neck and a struggle took place.
The driver drove the wrong way around a roundabout and almost collided with a bus stop before crashing into a wall.
Mark Ruffell, prosecuting, told Salisbury Crown Court on Monday the victim was “scared stiff” and is now unable to work at night.
Defending Bawn, Angus Robertson said the incident was out of character. “His life was at a low ebb, his marriage had recently broken up and his wife had their child. He was living on his own, isolated, and will readily accept he was drinking far too much.”
Mr Robertson said Bawn, who had left the army about three months before this incident took place, is now living in Woodbury Close, Biggin Hill, Kent and is addressing his difficulties with alcohol.
Bawn admitted possessing a bladed article and two charges of assault.
Judge Douglas Field said: “These offences paint an extremely serious picture. You and your friend got into this taxi and immediately the taxi driver was vulnerable.
“It’s not surprising the taxi went out of control and hit a wall, you are very fortunate no one was injured as a result of that, otherwise you would be facing even more serious offences.”
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a youth referral order for common assault at an earlier youth court hearing.
http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/ ... r_soldier/
Login
Register
FAQ
)