Man pressed knife into taxi driver's stomach and said 'I'll kill you'https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... s-32088544
A man pressed a blade into a taxi driver's stomach and threatened to kill him after he tried to collect his girlfriend's unpaid fare. Lee Smith, 41, had been out of prison for just two months when he told the driver: "I'll stab you, I'll kill you".
The incident occurred outside a property in Kirkby, in the early hours of April 28 this year. At around 11.30pm on April 27, the victim picked up a woman who did not have the money to pay for her journey. When the driver indicated he needed payment upfront, the woman asked him to drive her to Warrenhouse Road, where her partner would pay her fare.
However, when the taxi driver arrived at the address, the woman went inside and did not come out. At Liverpool Crown Court today, July 18, prosecutor Ian Criddle said: "After 10 minutes, the driver knocked on the door. The lady didn't come out, but the defendant did.
"He was aggressive, he had a knife in his right hand and he pressed it against the taxi driver's stomach. He said 'you Black c***, get away from here, I'll stab you, I'll kill you.'
"At this point the woman who had initially taken the taxi came out. She tried to get him instead and said words to the effect of 'come back tomorrow, I'll pay you then'."
Smith, of no fixed abode but formerly of Croxteth Road, Toxteth, continued to racially abuse and threaten the man. The taxi driver called police, and Smith was arrested.
Mr Criddle said: "When he was interviewed he admitted answering the door. He said the felt threatened due to a previous incident involving somebody else, not the victim. He said he didn't know the female hadn't paid and that's why he told the driver to 'f*** off'.
"He is 41 and does have a number of convictions, in fact has been sentenced on 37 separate occasions for 90 separate offences. His record includes a whole range of offences: damage, theft, violence, robbery, and road offences."
He added: "The victim described the knife involved as being between 10 and 12cm in length. He does say he was upset, he was distressed and he was scared."
Smith pleaded guilty to threatening a person with a blade in a public place, and racially aggravated common assault.
Charles Lander, defending, said: "The defendant is realistic that this will be an immediate custodial sentence. The most important mitigation is his guilty plea. Unusually for a man with his length of record, he doesn't have any previous racially aggravated offences.
"The defendant came out of prison in February 2025 from his last sentence. He was told he was going to practical accommodation, not to his home. He didn't want to go back to his mother's address. Probation placed him there and, more importantly, he only had a few weeks of his medication. He ran out of medication, he was unmedicated, he drank too much, and he was staying at home.
"Being drunk, being unmedicated, a man with clear difficulties and medical issues, he clearly reacted disproportionately. Ultimately he doesn't offer any excuses for his actions.
"He's now being medicated and his hope is to go and live in the Stoke area. He has a partner in Stoke, she is a positive influence, he has family in Stoke, and most importantly he will have accommodating supporting him if he can remain properly medicated.
"There clearly is a better side to him. He's determined to lead, now, a law-abiding lifestyle aware from the various influences that have been negative to him in Merseyside."
Smith was sentenced to a total of 30 months in prison.
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