South Yorkshire man threatened to chop off cops' heads with machete

A South Yorkshire man who threatened to chop off police officers' heads with a machete has been spared an immediate prison sentence, Sheffield Crown Court has heard.
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Officers were called to Barry Beaver's home in Rotherham at 11pm, on October 26, after he rang 999 asking for an ambulance and saying he was "feeling volatile," said prosecutor Chloe Fairley.

When he was taken to the Accident and Emergency department at Rotherham Hospital, he told a doctor he wanted to kill someone and if he was approached by police, he would cut their heads off.

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After demanding medication, Beaver left the hospital, but was arrested at his home at 4am.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court.Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court.
Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court.

He later told officers he had no recollection of the incident, and denied having any intention of harming anyone other than himself.

"He said he wanted help but didn’t want the police to come round,” added Ms Fairley. It was, he said, a cry for help.

The court heard he has three previous convictions. For making threats to kill, in October 2014, he received a community order; for assaulting an officer and drink driving, in June 2018, he was jailed for four weeks. For carrying an imitation firearm, four months later, he received a 24 month sentence, suspended for two years.

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Chris Aspinall, mitigating, said Beaver, who suffers from bi-polar disorder, didn't offend when he was taking medication and his mood was stabilised.

He committed the offence at the end of the last suspended sentence, and has now served the equivalent of a five month sentence while in custody, the court heard.

Beaver, 35, of Jowitt Close, Maltby, pleaded guilty to making threats.

Judge David Dixon, who sentenced Beaver in October 2018, complimented him on his appearance and said: "If you don't look after yourself, sooner or later you will go downhill and have quite devastating mood swings.

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"That's what happened when we met two years ago. The threats you were making are horrific. Whether you would have carried them out I don't know. I suspect it was bravado and the effect of your condition."

He imposed a 12 month community order with 20 days of rehabilitation.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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