Fulwood man Jordan Bourne jailed after threatening to 'slice up' mum and granddad

Jordan Bourne, 24, warned he would "slice up" the two close family members if they didn't withdraw charges after damage was caused to his granddad's flat.

Bourne, of Geneva Road, Fulwood, appeared in the city's Crown Court after pleading guilty to two charges of witness intimidation, one of criminal damage and one of possessing an offensive weapon - a knuckleduster.

Three daggers also found at his home will be destroyed after he volunteered to hand them over to police.

Jailing him for a total of 28 months Judge Graham Knowles told Bourne: "These were dreadful, dreadful offences - not only because of (the effect they had on) the people, but you were trying to derail the course of justice and no judge can tolerate that. A prison sentence must follow for that kind of offending."

"I'll slit your throat and kill anyone who gets in my way"

Lawyer David Clarke, prosecuting, told the court that damage was done to the flat of his grandfather Brian Lamont where Bourne had been staying. It followed earlier damage which was alleged to have been done by a female friend. The incidents were reported to police.

Mr Clarke said Bourne then told his grandfather to drop the charges against his girlfriend, warning: "I'll slit your throat and kill anyone who gets in my way."

Then he phoned his mother Tracey Hartley to say that if the charges were not dropped by 10 o'clock that day he would slit the throats of both of them, smash up the property and burn the flat down.

Ms Hartley told him she was going to drop the charges, but instead phoned 999, "not only because of the damage to her father's property, but also the threat to kill her and her father."

"I genuinely feared I would have been killed”

Mr Clarke said Bourne taunted her by saying he would get away with it. Then he warned: "I will be in your place in an hour and slice you up.” “She believed he was capable of carrying out those threats."

Bourne was said in court to have "serious anger issues" and the incident had meant his granddad wouldn't now return to his flat because "he is still scared he will do something."

In a victim impact statement Mr Lamont said his grandson "flips out very easily." And he added: "I feel anxious in my own home. I genuinely feared I would have been killed."

Bourne's defence lawyer told the court his client was remorseful for what he had done and the three-and-a-half months he had spent in prison on remand had been a "salutary" experience for him.

He had behaved in a "wholly inappropriate manner" and was "ashamed of the way he acted towards his grandfather and mother."

"He is hopeful that he will be able to build bridges with his mother in due course. She was obviously very frightened by what he had done, but if the defendant is willing to put the effort in then she will too. So there is some hope."

He also said Bourne, who had a previous criminal record which included violence, had committed these offences when he was struggling with alcohol and had an ADHD diagnosis. While on remand he had shown a completely different side to himself and had received a positive report from prison staff.

Judge Knowles issued a restraining order banning Bourne from making any attempt to contact his grandfather or go with 50-metres of where he was living. The order will be in place for 10 years and could, said the judge, be extended.

"It is obvious you can be very pleasant, have the right attitude and the right behaviour. But you can (also) commit offences involving vile murderous threats.

"I am willing to accept that there is a measure of remorse in your case. I have done my best to weigh up the very serious crimes you have committed. You do seem to be showing a good and positive side of yourself. Long may that continue."

He sentenced Bourne to 27 months on both counts of witness intimidation, to run concurrently. He also gave him two months for criminal damage, again concurrent. And he added one month for possessing the knuckleduster to run consecutively, making a total of 28 months in prison.