A NOTORIOUS gunman is back behind bars after he drove directly at a young boy during a booze-fuelled row before threatening to kill his wife.
Keith Pringle flew into a rage after downing eight bottles of strong cider while driving his car and speeding straight towards the youngster as he walked along a country road.
The 52-year-old was caught on his camera doorbell returning home laden with beer bottles before continuing to shout abuse at family members.
Teesside Crown Court heard how two days after trying to knock the boy over the defendant threatened to kill his wife during an abusive telephone call.
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Joe Culley, prosecuting, said his wife feared her safety as she knew of his history of violence and previous convictions.
Pringle was at the centre of a 48-hour hostage siege with his ex-partner which ended when he was shot in the neck by a police marksman in 1992. He had been jailed previously for offences including, false imprisonment, threats to kill, and possession of a shotgun.
Mr Culley said Pringle drank up to eight bottles of cider before throwing the empty bottles out of the car window before the pair started arguing.
He said: “He set off walking along a grass verge, the defendant turned his car around and drove straight at him, accelerating as he did so, and he had to jump out of the way.”
The defendant returned home and CCTV from his doorbell showed Pringle return carrying a number of beer bottles in his arms on October 27, last year.
The court how two days later, Pringle’s wife called the police when he threatened to kill her and he was later arrested and charged with two offences.
In a victim impact statement, Pringle’s wife said the family’s ‘lives have been turned upside down’ when he started drinking heavily.
She said: “I believe calling the police at the time was the best thing for my safety and the safety of Keith. Keith is a good father and husband. I hope he seeks help for his mental health and alcohol problem.”
Pringle, of Headlam, near Darlington, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and making threats to kill half way through his trial last week.
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Kelleigh Lodge, in mitigation, said her client had started to drink heavily during lockdown and lost his business as a haulage driver.
Judge Howard Crowson jailed Pringle for two years for terrifying his family with his dangerous driving and threats to kill.
He said: “It caused the boy to jump out of the way, perhaps we will never know whether in fact you would have hit him, he doesn’t believe you wanted to harm him; I don’t believe you wanted to harm him – it would have been a life time of regret for you if you had.
“There was a very serious risk that you could have caused her very serious injury or worse.”
Pringle was also banned from driving for 30 months.
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