Witham: Man jailed after making threats carrying samurai sword (From Braintree and Witham Times)

Witham: Man jailed after making threats carrying samurai sword

3:45pm Tuesday 5th February 2013 in News

A man holding a samurai sword who threatened police and members of the public has been jailed.

Richard Hearn, 46, was given a two-year sentence after he was found guilty of possession of an offensive weapon and affray after he threatened two women in a car and two police officers.

Police had been called out to the incident in Wharf Close, Witham, on August 2 last year.

Hearn had made threats to his father, who was concerned about his son's mental health.

He then went out of the house and made threats to two women in cars, telling them to get them out of their car. They refused and he walked back into his home.

When two police officers from the local neighbourhood team arrived at the house, they were threatened by Hearn.

Officers tried to subdue him using CS spray and their batons but he resisted all attempts to arrest him.

The officers took refuge nearby when Hearn chased them out of the house, but they then followed Hearn, who was still carrying the sword, as he went down the road, and they were finally able to arrest and handcuff him in Highfields Road.

DC Steven Walker, who investigated the case, said: "There is no doubt that our officers acted bravely in the face of the threats by this man with a sword, and feared that he would attack them."