UPDATE: |Grandad, 37, behaved ‘outrageously’ in pub after thinking his car keys had gone News

Kyle Williams had to be tasered by police

A grandfather claimed he might have been spiked, which led to his “disgraceful behaviour” at a local pub. Kyle Williams flew into a violent rage, mistakenly believing his car keys had been nicked.

Williams later came back to the bar wielding a hammer, shattered a window, and threatened other customers with the weapon. Following the incident, police visited resulting in Williams being tasered by officers.

On Monday (April 14), Liverpool Crown Court was told that Williams had been enjoying drinks at the Rose and Crown in Wallasey, Wirral, with relatives on March 15.

The court heard that around midnight, 37-year-old Williams, of Bishop’s Road, became “argumentative and aggressive” under the false impression his vehicle keys had been stolen.

Prosecutor Hannah Darling described how his behaviour continued even after the landlady “tried to calm him down”, causing two regulars to intervene. This sparked Williams to tell them, “Who are you threatening?” before leaving.

Not long after, Williams returned and used a claw hammer to break the pub’s windows. Brandishing the weapon, he then entered the premises alongside his 13-year-old son, who carried a knife, and shouted: “No one threatens me”, reports the Liverpool Echo.

This caused some customers to run in fear while several others again intervened. Williams again warned “no one threatens me” and smashed a glass panel in a door before leaving once more.

Police officers subsequently attended his home address, although he was able to leave the property via a rear exit. He was then located on nearby Mostyn Street and had to be tasered in order to be detained.

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His criminal record shows a total of 13 previous convictions for 28 offences, including receiving a community order in 2019 for possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. John Rowan, defending, told the court: “He has now been in custody for some 28 days.

“He is not a stranger to custody, but his last sentence of imprisonment was some 17 years ago. He has been in stable accommodation for some time and is in long term employment, which is still open to him.

“He is a father-of-three and he is a grandfather to one. He is a far cry from the 20-year-old who went to prison for drug and driving offences. The past few weeks have been sobering for him. He has had time to reflect on how he behaved that night. He fully accepts that his behaviour was disgraceful.

“What happened that evening is something he cannot get his head around. That is not the man he perceived himself to be. While he has previous convictions, none of them are for violence.

“He maintains that he might have been spiked by an individual in the pub. He became paranoid. He became irrational. He believed that individuals had taken the keys to his car, which was parked outside.

“He wants it known how ashamed he is. He wants to apologise to each and every person who was affected by his actions. He is particularly ashamed that his 13-year-old son became embroiled in this incident. It was a complete dereliction of his duties as a father.

“Mr Williams has demonstrated that he can stay away from offending. He does have physical issues concerning his foot and some mental health issues. There has been previous suicidal ideation.”

Williams admitted making threats with an offensive weapon and criminal damage. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a black Mountain Equipment coat over a red Montirex tracksuit top, he puffed out his cheeks, bowed his head and rubbed his eyes with his right hand as he was handed a 14-month imprisonment suspended for two years.

Sentencing, Recorder Richard Pratt KC said: “On that night, no doubt fuelled by drink, you behaved outrageously. You were threatening and abusive to people who you thought, wrongly, had stolen your keys and, much worse, you returned having armed yourself with a hammer.

“It is a significant aggravating feature that, at that time, you were accompanied by your 13-year-old son, who also had with him a knife. While you have previous convictions, it is clear to me that what happened on this night was outside of your normal character.

“If I were to impose an immediate custodial sentence then the period you would be spending in custody would be a matter of months, whereas I can impose a suspended period of imprisonment with requirements which will hang over you for considerably longer. I believe it is not only appropriate for you, it is appropriate for the community at large.

“You behaved outrageously on that night. I strongly urge you to take this chance. I doubt very much that this chance will be offered to you again.”

Williams was also told to complete 100 hour of unpaid work, a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days, a programme requirement and a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement. One of his supporters in the public gallery was heard to say “see you later Kyle” as the hearing was concluded.