Drunk ‘flipped’ and ran around Leeds street with Samurai sword as children screamed in terror
A drunken man left residents terrified and children screaming after he was seen running around the streets late at night clutching a Samurai sword.
Mason Murray later told police he had “flipped” and it was “one of those days”, having already attacked and strangled his partner hours before.
The 20-year-old was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after admitting intentional strangulation and possession of a bladed article in public.
The court heard that police had been called to the address in Bramley at 4.15pm on September 3 last year after a witness said Murray was “battering his partner” in the house.
By the time the officers arrived, Murray had left but the woman was found with bruises to her neck and in a distressed state, prosecutor Olivia Fraser told the court.
She later told police they had been in a relationship for three years and that Murray was mentally and physically abusive.
She said she had been getting ready for a trial day in a potentially new job, but he was pestering her, calling her names and accusing her of cheating.
She locked herself in the bedroom to get ready, but he began banging on the door, saying he would break it down if she did not let him in.
She relented, but Murray continued with his accusations before either kicking or shoving her into a set of drawers.
Murray then began slapping her before punching her top the face. She began to cry and he mimicked her.
When she tried to leave he put both hands around her neck and lifted her off the floor. She later said she felt like her eyes “were about to pop out of her head”.
He eventually released his grip and threw her down, threatening to smash a lamp over her head.
His mother began shouting at him to stop and he swore at her.
Murray then left the property, but not before taking his partner’s phone.
Shortly after midnight, witnesses said they were woken by screaming and shouting in the street and saw Murray with a 10” sword in his hand.
People and their children had come out to see the commotion.
He tried to jump over a fence before running into an address, then ran out and down a ginnel towards Bramley Park.
The police were called and used dogs and drones to locate him. He was found hiding in bushes. The sword was not recovered.
Murray, of Fairfield Hill, Bramley, has five previous convictions including possessing an offensive weapon and burglary.
He appeared in court over a video link from HMP Doncaster.
Mitigating, Celine Kart said: “This has been his first experience of custody and it has been sobering in all senses of the word.
“He did not think he would miss his family as much as he has. He took life for granted.”
She said he was “incredibly remorseful”.
The judge, Recorder Andrew Haslam KC, told him that the fact he was drunk was an aggravating factor, and jailed him for a total of two years.