A MAN who previously represented Wales as a young boxer threatened to stab a member of security staff at the Bangor nightclub he had been ejected from.
Harvey Williams then repeatedly spat on the floor of a police vehicle after he had been arrested.
Williams, 20, of Queen’s Avenue, was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment, suspended for a year-and-a-half, at Mold Crown Court today (February 14).
He had previously admitted charges of criminal damage to property and threatening a person with an offensive weapon in public.
Prosecutor William Griffin said that at 1.15am on July 14, 2024, police received a call from an employee at the Trilogy nightclub in Bangor, who reported a “disturbance” at the premises.
Williams and another male had been removed from the club as a result, but outside, he picked up a glass bottle, smashed it, and began threatening door staff with it.
Police attended, and upon his arrest, Williams was also abusive to them.
Simon Roberts, a member of the club’s door staff, told police that Williams had shouted at him: “I’ll stab you in the neck, you p****.”
Enroute to custody, Williams then repeatedly spat in the police vehicle he was in, which cost police £134.40 to clean.
Mr Roberts said he has been a doorman for 18 years, but that was this most serious threat he had received while working.
A co-defendant, Leandro Pires, 19, of Withywood Drive, Telford, was fined and ordered to pay costs by magistrates for threatening behaviour.
Defending Williams, who had one previous conviction, Richard Edwards said his client “hasn’t tried to excuse or justify his behaviour in any way”.
He added that Williams feels genuine remorse for his actions, which he deemed “out of character”, and he has not re-offended since this.
Mr Edwards the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns led to Williams losing his “focus in life”, and finding himself in a “spiral of drug and alcohol abuse”.
But he said he has “managed to turn his life around”, no longer takes controlled drugs, and is looking for work in the construction industry.
Sentencing, Recorder Kevin Slack told Williams his behaviour was “disgusting”.
Per the terms of his suspended sentence, Williams was ordered to complete 80 hours’ unpaid work and 25 days’ rehabilitation activity, and to pay a £100 fine.
Recorder Slack told him: “You had a promising occupation, representing Wales as a boxer. When COVID struck, that precipitated a decline in you.
“I’m pleased to read that since then, you’ve turned matters around, and that’s very much to your credit.
“Please take the chance that I’ve given you today.”
Source – North Wales Chronicle
