Loud music and drug psychosis sparked claw hammer threats in Mansfield

A Mansfield man who threatened to smash in the heads of council workers with a claw hammer was in the grip of drug psychosis, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates CourtMansfield Magistrates Court
Mansfield Magistrates Court

Peter Sheppard went to his neighbour’s front door on Saundby Avenue, on January 9, with the hammer and asked: “Do you want some of this?”

“The man fled in fear of violence. One the same date two workers from the council came around to fix a window,” said Neil Hollett, prosecuting.

“The defendant came out brandishing the hammer and said: “I’m going to smash your heads in.””

Sheppard, 33, admitted possessing an offensive weapon and using threatening or abusive words when he appeared before magistrates in Mansfield on Thurdsay.

Greta Percival, of the probation service, said Sheppard had suffered mental health problems for 11 years.

She said he suffered from drug induced psychosis on the night of the offences, but had admitted taking cannabis and amphetamine.

She said the incident was “a wake-up call for him”.

Zahra Hussain, mitigating, said Sheppard had been out of trouble for five years and this was “a one-off incident” caused by underlying mental health issues.

She said Sheppard’s mother usually ordered the medication for him, but she was on an urgent hospital visit to Hull on this occasion.

“He wasn’t able to calm his thoughts down,” she said. “The neighbours upstairs were playing loud music. He went outside and walked around in the cold to calm down.”

He was sent to prison for 12 weeks, suspended for a year, with ten days of rehabilitation. He must also pay costs of £85 and a £115 victim surcharge.

Related topics: