Young dad pulled Stanley knife on pal after claiming mum's parcel stolen
"You picked up a knife. There was some incident which your mother was not able to see. She could only listen to the sound of screaming, because she fled upstairs."
A young dad who reportedly accused a friend of stealing a parcel from his mum pulled a Stanley knife on him during a frenzied confrontation.
Adam Mercer invited friends to mum Deborah McDowell's house despite a court order from October 2023 preventing him from contacting her or entering her street.
But the Liverpool Echo reports she was left cowering in fear and calling 999 after the incident which has led the dad-of-one back to jail.
On Wednesday, Liverpool Crown Court heard Ms McDowell was on a shopping trip on April 8 and returned to her Bootle home to find Mercer, 31, with an unnamed "associate" in her living room.
Jonathan Keane, prosecuting, told the court the mum asked why he was there to which Mercer replied "don't get the police".
Half an hour later he left the house, only to return with a third male shortly afterwards before becoming "animated and aggressive" in the kitchen after claiming "a parcel belonging to his mother had been taken".
As Mercer wielded a Stanley knife his "frightened" mum called the police from her bedroom, and could then hear "shouting and screaming" from downstairs.
When Mercer learned she had called emergency services he fled and discarded the weapon in the street before being arrested.
The repeat offender has a 42 previous convictions for 72 offences, including six previous breaches of the same restraining order.
He also has a previous appearance for possession of a bladed article in a public place in 2010.
Jeremy Rawson, defending, told the court: "He looks to his mother for support. Regrettably, he also uses drugs. Clearly, these particular factors, put together, make his conduct unpleasant and, at times, intolerable.
"His mother says that, if he has assistance, then he could be rehabilitated. That is not going to happen without some input from him.
"He is not taking drugs. He has turned his back on that. He has got a job work in prison radio and has shown a certain skill working in that. That is something he could perhaps establish a career in.
"He is remorseful. He regrets what has taken place. He is anxious, once he is released, to set himself right. He has one child from a previous relationship.
"He does not have contact with her, but he would like to in the future. He is making some positive steps to try and find some occupation that will keep him away from drugs."
Mercer, on a video link from HMP Liverpool, admitted making threats with a bladed article in a private place, possession of a bladed article in a public place and breaching a restraining order.
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Judge Robert Trevor-Jones jailed him for 14 months, with a new three-year restraining order.
Sentencing, he said: "As far as she was concerned, and she has got every right to be suspicious, you had the appearance of all being intoxicated by drugs. Some dispute arose between you and one or another of the associates you were with.
"You picked up a knife. There was some incident which your mother was not able to see. She could only listen to the sound of screaming, because she fled upstairs, frightened, and called the police.
"Your mother has urged an element of leniency on your behalf, pointing out that your Achilles heel is drug abuse and that if that were cured you could be an entirely proper person.
"This is now the seventh time that you have been back before the court for breaching the current order. It is a none ending pattern of breaching court orders in one form or another."
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