Newton Aycliffe man jailed for knife threats to wife and injuring PC

David Eldrett is considered to pose a danger of causing serious future offences of violence after the incident in which he threatened his vulnerable wife at knifepoint and then injured the officer by throwing the knife from short range, seriously injuring the constable’s thigh.

The offences were committed as part of a prolonged incident while he was under the influence of drink and probably cocaine at his home in Newton Aycliffe, in the early hours of Sunday January 28 this year.

Durham Crown Court heard that he had helped his 70-year-old wife, who was awaiting a hip operation, to bed late the previous night.

(Image: Durham Constabulary)

But in the early hours of January 28, she was awoken by him screaming and shouting in his bedroom before he then went into her room carrying a large knife.

Martin Towers, prosecuting, said Eldrett returned to his own room, still ranting, then went back to his wife’s room and tried to take her phone from her, while telling her: “You’re going to die tonight”, and: “We are both going to die tonight.”

Mr Towers said at one stage Eldrett made a “rather strange phone call” to his wife’s brother, while sounding heavily intoxicated, telling him: “I’m sorry, I’m going to kill your sister.”

His wife had, by then, managed to get out of bed, but she was pushed to the floor by Eldrett, who refused to help her up.

Fearing for her safety and barely able to walk, she attempted to go down the stairs one by one on her bottom, rather than attempt to use the stair lift, in case Eldrett pushed her from it on the descent.

When she got downstairs, Eldrett continued waving the knife around, repeating his threat that she would die.

He told her not to unlock the door and said he would kill any police officer who attempted to enter the house.

Mr Towers said the police attended the property, in Kestrel Court, at about 3am, and could see Eldrett through the window with the knife, shouting threats.

He ensured the door was locked, drew the sitting room curtains, and turned the lights off, so the police adopted emergency tactics to force their way into the property, fearing for the safety of the defendant’s wife.

A stun grenade was thrown into the house, emitting blinding light and loud noise as a distraction, and when the first officer went into the room, he felt something striking his left thigh.

The defendant was detained, but the officer became aware of blood coming from his left leg which had clearly sustained injury from the knife, believed to have been thrown by Eldrett from short range.

Mr Towers said the officer was given first aid at the scene and went to hospital to have the wound stitched.

The court heard that the officer suffered muscle damage and was bed-bound for three weeks to prevent the stitches opening.

Victim statements were read to the hearing on behalf of both the officer and Eldrett’s wife, who said she would never forget the incident and her husband’s unprovoked threatening outburst, which left her, “absolutely petrified.”

She said that in his rage, Eldrett had also picked up their dog and threatened to stab it, holding the knife to its stomach.

Mrs Eldrett thought both she and the dog would be killed, and she can still recall the coldness of the knife pressed to her neck as he made his threats that she would die.

She has since struggled to sleep, fearing Eldrett would come into the room with a knife, and she added that looking back over their six-year relationship she believes she was frequently the victim of his bullying.

In his statement, also read to the court, the officer explained the long process in overcoming his injuries and attempting to regain his fitness since the incident.

He explained the last thing he and his colleagues wanted to do that morning was to harm anyone, and they made that clear to the defendant, while trying to encourage him to leave the property calmly.

The officer said he was off work for ten weeks recuperating and has ongoing effects with the damaged muscle in his thigh, hindering his movement.

Due to his recovery and absence from work he missed a specialist firearms course with a lengthy waiting list and also had to cancel a family holiday.

He has since decided against undergoing an operation on the fused muscle in his thigh to prevent further disruption to his family’s life.

Eldrett, of Kestrel Court, admitted charges of making a threat to kill and common assault on his wife, plus unlawful wounding of the officer.

The latter was only on the week of his scheduled trial for the more serious offences of wounding with intent, last month.

His record is said to have included offences of wounding with intent, for which he received a five-year sentence in 1994, plus offences of making threats to kill and drug supply, for which he received a short sentence in 2001.

(Image: Durham Constabulary)

Shaun Routledge, in mitigation, said the defendant has shown clear signs of regret and remorse, apologising for his actions that night, particularly to his wife and the injured officer, but also to his police colleagues sent to deal with the incident.

Mr Routledge said there has been a 30-year gap since the defendant was involved in anything as serious as this, but he has had issues with alcohol and opiate-dependency, which, combined with a mild learning difficulty, has had negative outcome.

“The court isn’t dealing with the most sophisticated of men and he has had those issues with alcohol and drugs.

“It also appears that at the turn of the year he was trying to deal with psychiatric problems.

“If he was free of alcohol and opiates and such like he doesn’t pose a serious risk of causing further specified offences.”

(Image: The Northern Echo)

Mr Routledge conceded the events that night could have had a “far worse” outcome than they did.

“Thankfully, they did not,” he added.

Judge Geoffrey Marson KC told the defendant: “It’s perfectly clear to me that the events of that early morning were fuelled by excessive consumption of alcohol.”

The judge said his wife, who could barely walk, “genuinely believed she going to die”, while the officer who attended was obviously going to suffer serious injuries given the close proximity from which the knife was thrown.

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“The consequences of your actions that night were quite dreadful”, causing either significant psychological or physical impact to his victims.

He imposed prison sentences totalling six years, three years consecutively for the offences against each victim.

The judge also made the defendant subject of a restraining order, “until further order”, prohibiting him making any contact, directly or indirectly, or approaching his wife, which he said meant it was, effectively, “without limit of time”.