Man jailed after threatening partner with eight-inch knife

Sunday 13 October 2024

A 41-year-old man who held a knife to his partner’s throat and threatened to kill him has been jailed for a year.

The Royal Court heard that Arkadiusz Michal Pawlowicz’s partner feared he was going to die when Pawlowicz threatened him with an eight-inch knife on 7 August this year.

Crown Advocate Lauren Taylor, prosecuting, said the pair were out drinking that afternoon and continued drinking when they returned to the victim’s flat.

The court heard that the pair got into an argument and the victim made a comment about Pawlowicz’s mother, which Pawlowicz reportedly misunderstood.

She said: “That provoked him to pick up the bread knife from the kitchen. He told his partner he was going to kill him.

“The defendant held the knife close to him. It caused him to fear for his life.”

She said that the victim ran out of the house and called the police, who arrived at 21:30.

The victim did not suffer any injuries and Pawlowicz, who admitted grave and criminal assault, had no previous convictions.

He was deemed as at medium risk of reconviction.

The Crown Advocate recommended a 15-month prison sentence and a domestic abuse protection order, saying: “There is a real risk of future domestic abuse.”

However Advocate Frances Littler, defending, argued that 15 months was too long and suggested a community service order and 12-month probation order instead, saying: “He is willing to abide by that.”

Advocate Littler explained: “This was spur of the moment. He only wanted to make the victim stop talking.

“There was no intention to harm the victim.

“My client was co-operative and pleaded guilty at the Magistrate’s Court on 8 August.”

She added: “Alcohol was a key component in the offence and is something my client is keen to address.

“He accepts that alcohol is a problem.”

The advocate also pointed out that Pawlowicz accepted the relationship with the victim was over and had no intention of trying to rekindle it, so a domestic abuse protection order was unnecessary.

But Bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq said the Jurats had agreed that a custodial sentence was warranted.

They also imposed a domestic abuse protection order, forbidding Pawlowicz from having any contact with the victim for five years.

The Jurats sitting were Kim Averty and David Le Heuzé.