A 19-year-old who went “berserk” after drinking almost a pint of vodka hurled a huge knife at a police officer.
On March 11, Joshua Dunbavin drank almost a pint of vodka in his shared accommodation and became "very angry".
Louise Santamera, prosecuting, said Dunbarvin lived in the shared home in Sherlock Lane, Wallasey, and spent the evening with his now ex-partner Demi Jones listening to music and drinking.
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The 19-year-old's mood began to change when reflecting on his mum’s death and he started arguing with two women on the landing. Miss Jones also left the room and sat on the stairs.
Ms Santamera added: "He grabbed her by the neck and punched her in the face for no apparent reason."
Miss Jones went into the room of one of the other women but after about 20 minutes he came in and insisted Miss Jones leave the room with him.
Ms Santamera said: “She did not want to and the other females told him to leave or they would call the police. At this point he appears to have lost it.
"He became very angry grabbing, Demi by the hair. The girls managed to drag him away from her which appeared to make him every more angry.
"He picked up a television belonging to one of the girls and threw it at her before his girlfriend managed to push him out of the room. They locked the door and called the police.
“The defendant then went berserk and went into his room, picked up his television and threw it down the stairs and damaged a cabinet and settee. “
After another altercation with a friend on the landing he went downstairs and armed himself with two knives from a kitchen drawer.
CCTV footage was played to Liverpool Crown Court showing the frightening scene in the road when police arrived and found Dunbavin, who was limping badly, brandishing the knives and shouting threats to stab the officers.
Dunbavin then hurled an eight inch blade at PC Michael Blakemore which narrowly missed him.
The knife was thrown with such force it snapped at the handle and the officer told how he had feared for his life and was shaken by the incident.
In custody the 19-year-old said: “I am capable of murder. I have tried before but somehow they always get away.”
He also said he "going to murder someone once I get out of here”.
Miss Santamera said he accepted the allegations against him and spoke of how the death of his mum had an 'enormous effect' on him.
She added: "Drink made it [depression and anxiety] worse and when drunk he became very angry and aggressive. He said he had difficult childhood and spent most of it in care.
“His mother committed suicide in 2017 which had had an enormous effect on him and he said he had several attempts at suicide, the most recent on February 12 when he had thrown himself off a bridge and broken his ankle.”
In an impact statement PC Blakemore said he had been a serving officer for 17 years, most of it “on the front line and could count the number of times he had pressed his emergency button on one hand.”
He said the initial report about the incident was nothing out of the ordinary and like many he had attended on a regular basis but the level of aggression.
He said: “I have rarely been subjected to and at the time the knife was thrown at him I feared for my life.
“I now know that it was thrown with such force it snapped in half. I dread to think what would have happened if I had not turned and run when I saw knives in his hand.”
The officer added he had always dealt with aggression in a low key manner but he felt this incident might affect that approach in future.
Miss Jones said the incident had affected her mental health causing her to suffer depression and she now finds it hard to trust people.
Dunbavin, who has a previous conviction for attempted robbery, pleaded guilty to affray, threats with a bladed article and three offences of battery.
He also admitted two of criminal damage, which the court heard totalled £1,000, with one of the charges involving him stabbing a tyre on a police car puncturing it.
Desmond Lennon, defending, said that the defendant had “suffered terrible abuse” as a child.
“He accepts he was completely out of control and regrets what happened.”
Mr Lennon said that Dunbavin had been reflecting on the tragic death of his mum which had a great impact on him.
He expressed remorse for his behaviour and “has prayed to God for forgiveness.
"He accepts he hurt people who did not deserve to be hurt and accepts his behaviour to the officers, particularly PC Blakemore, was unacceptable.”
A psychiatrist found that not only had he had a drink problem for three or four years because of his childhood trauma but at the time of the incident he was having a depressive episode.
Mr Lennon added: “It was an example of extreme emotional distress and he is also possibly suffering PTSD.”
Sentencing him to two years detention Judge Stuart Driver, QC, said he took into account his mental health difficulties, his age and that this will be his first custodial sentence.
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