Doncaster knifeman who chased boy after he was insulted by yobs jailed

Sheffield Crown Court heard on September 2 how Christopher Meads, aged 33, of Sutton Road, Doncaster, had been subjected to insults from boys in the street when he came out of his home with a kitchen knife and chased a teenage boy.

Susan Evans, prosecuting, said Meads had been smoking outside near where two youngsters had been waiting and one of their group insulted the defendant and he became angry before the youngsters went into a property.

Ms Evans added the youngsters came out again and the defendant spoke to one of them and became angry and got a kitchen knife and chased them and threatened to stab one boy with the knife.

Recorder Darren Preston told Meads: “No matter what insults are thrown at you or what provocation it creates, you cannot arm yourself and go into the street.

"When people take weapons, particularly knives, out into the street things get out of hand very quickly.

"People get into fights and when people get into fights, people get stabbed, and when people get stabbed, people die.”

Meads, who has previous convictions including making threats with a blade, pleaded guilty to possessing a blade in public after the incident in May, 2019, and he subsequently breached a previously imposed suspended prison sentence.

Amy Earnshaw, defending, said: “It’s clear there were difficulties and there have still been difficulties between Mr Meads and local youths in the area. Mr Meads has been targeted and prior to this incident he has been called offensive terms.”

Ms Earnshaw added: “He’s a vulnerable man and he has been preyed upon in the community by local youths.”

Meads also struggles emotionally and has Asperger’s Syndrome, according to Ms Earnshaw, and the barrage of abuse over months was too much for him.

She said Meads has expressed remorse and accepts he should not have acted this way but he lost his temper and had only intended to scare them.

However, Recorder Preston said the offence combined with Meads’s previous convictions were too serious for him to impose anything other than 14-months of custody.