Drunk who made Castleford partner 'feel like a prisoner' tried to smash glass over her head
An alcoholic who sought to hide his past, made his partner “feel like a prisoner” and tried to smash glass over her head in a drunken outburst.
Adam Beckett told the woman he was working at a rehabilitation centre when he was in fact a patient there for his drinking problem, Leeds Crown Court heard.
He was jailed after attacking her at her home in Castleford.
The 34-year-old and the victim had endured a volatile 18-month relationship blighted by his boozing, prosecutor Kristina Goodwin told the court.
Beckett moved into her home but dependency deteriorated and he turned to stronger alcoholic drinks.
On April 2, 2023, he came home and was in a mood, with him slamming the shopping down on the table.
When the woman asked him what was wrong he picked up the glass and threatened to smash it over head, before trying to carry out his threat, but was blocked by her arm.
He made threats to kill her but she tried to calm him down and guided him upstairs to sleep it off.
She planned to leave the property and meet a friend because she was fearful later saying he was “unpredictable in drink and capable of anything”.
But Beckett woke and became angry about her plans to go out. He grabbed her and pinned her down, covering her mouth with his hand.
She was able to scratch his face and run into the bathroom to call the police.
Beckett was arrested and interviewed, where he denied wrongdoing. He admitted grabbing her mouth but said it was only to stop her screaming.
He later admitted common assault, strangulation and making threats to kill.
Beckett, of Highfield Mews, Grantham, Lincolnshire, has three previous convictions for eight offences.
Mitigating, Becky Jane conceded the “custody threshold has been passed” but said Beckett had stayed out of trouble since.
She said: “He was fully in the grip of alcoholism. He can’t point to that as an excuse, it’s an aggravating factor.
“It necessitated him to go into a rehabilitation unit. He is remorseful and ashamed of his actions.”
She requested the inevitable prison sentence be suspended, but Judge Alex Menary said it would have to be immediate, saying the victim had “felt like a prisoner in her own home”.
He jailed Beckett for 33 months and and gave him an indefinite-length restraining order.