After being caught with weapons two times within the space of a few weeks, an abusive customer has now been banned from going to his local night club. In the first incident, Liam Hill went to the night club armed with a knife and in the second he was carrying a homemade knuckleduster. The man was carrying the weapons since he feared that he too might be attacked like his father who was killed using a knife and a hammer in an attack that happened just before Christmas in 2016.
Liam Hill is from Kingsway and is 23 years old. He admitted to one count of threatening behaviour and two counts of possession of offensive weapons. He appeared at the Exeter Crown Court where Judge Geoffrey Mercer sentenced him to 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid community service. The judge also issued a restraining order that banned him from entering or trying to enter Retro’s Club for the next five years. The club is located in Teignmouth on Northumberland Place.
Speaking to Hill, the judge warned him that the offences had placed him on thin ice since he not only took weapons to the club on two occasions but on the last occasion, he was still out on bail. The judge warned him that if he came before him again he would be going to prison. The judge also said that he understood that this was a particularly difficult time for Hill but he also told him that he could have a bright future if he avoided criminal offences.
According to the Prosecutor, Miss Emily Pitts, the knife was found hidden in Hill’s sock by a doorman. This was on 30th December and he’d told the police that he was carrying it for his own safety. On January 14th, he was back at the club again and after being denied entry by the door staff, he started to hurl insults at them while making gestures. He kept shouting the threats even as he was being ushered away by a group of girls he was with. One hour later, the police found him near the area and he had a fire extinguisher ring on him which he said he’d kept as a weapon to protect himself.
The defence attorney argued that the defendant’s behaviour was influenced by the fact that he suffers from ADHD and he was afraid after what happened to his father.