A 23-year-old threatened to stab a man with a samurai sword during a disturbance in an Aberdeen garden.
Lewis Yeats “joined the fracas” and upped the ante when he brought out the Japanese weapon – prompting his victim to grab a garden hoe for protection, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Others involved in the Ardarroch Place incident – which happened on the afternoon of June 24 this year – were seen brandishing golf clubs and even a brush, fiscal depute Carol Gammie said.
One of the victims in the case arrived at the scene after hearing raised voices on a telephone call with his son.
Ms Gammie said Yeat’s co-accused punched the man’s son in the face.
During that assault, the victim had called his dad, who overheard a man asking if his son wanted to “have a go”, at which point the concerned father drove there to help.
But while he was en route things escalated and Yeats, and three other men armed with golf clubs, entered the communal stairwell.
Their victim defended himself with a brush and when his father arrived Yeats and the other men were about to leave in a car.
Incident took a further violent turn
However, plans changed and one of the men swung a hammer at the dad, but failed to strike him.
Tensions continued to mount when Yeats went inside a property and returned with the samurai sword, the court heard.
He “repeatedly threatened to stab” the father while standing directly in front of him, causing his victim to pick up a garden hoe “in order to defend himself”.
“The incident continued with parties moving further down the street at Ardarroch
Place,” Ms Gammie said.
“A witness who lived nearby looked out at the ongoing disturbance and saw that the accused Yeats was still in possession of a sword.
“The disturbance continued before the accused Yeats and two of the men he had arrived with got into a car and left.”
When police officers attended and spoke with the father and son involved they were informed of the events but the pair refused to give statements.
Yeats was subsequently traced and arrested four days later.
Appearing in the dock from custody at HMP Grampian, he admitted a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour.
His defence agent Graham Morrison said Yeats took the sword after one of the other men produced a knife.
“Mr Yeats joins the fracas with a golf club,” he said.
“The complainer’s son ups the ante by producing a knife and Mr Yeats matches that by producing a handy samurai sword from within the house.
“Thankfully neither did any more than brandish them at each other.”
Yeats was jailed in August for trying to stab a man who smashed his car window and completed that sentence earlier this month.
The solicitor said that time in prison had not been wasted.
‘He is quite sensible’
“He has been there and tasted jail,” Mr Morrison added. “It would appear from the reports that he has not wasted his time. He has done a lot of courses while there.
“He is not a stupid boy and is quite sensible.
“He has reached the conclusion that he is not going back to the Seaton area. He is going to stay out of Aberdeen as much as he can.”
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told him: “It seems your part in the mess that transpired that day was not the most significant. But this is a serious charge.
“What is anyone doing with a samurai sword in their house? Possession of such weapons means there is always a risk you are going to use them.”
She handed Yeats, of Blairdaff, Inverurie, a community payback order comprising an eight-month curfew, 120 hours of unpaid work and supervision for 18 months.
Others involved in the incident have yet to appear in court.
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