Leeds man tells Gipton neighbour 'I'll stab you up' during tirade of abuse that included racist slur
A Leeds man threatened to stab his neighbour during a relentless tirade of abuse.
David Hancock, 44, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court today (Thursday) for one count of racially aggravated harassment. He was also sentenced for a count of criminal damage after spitting on the backseat of a police car after his arrest.
The court heard that on June 5, 2022, the victim was inside her home on Beech Walk in Gipton when she heard Hancock shouting a racial slur.
She confronted him and he continued to call her names from his bedroom window and said he would get her “stabbed up”.
For the prosecution, Deborah Smithies said that Hancock started “shouting about winning the lottery” and said his ticket was in the front window. The victim then looked and saw that Hancock had left a cryptic message in the window with her name on it.
She told him to remove it and Hancock told her: “**** off. If you don’t get out of my garden I’m going to stab you up.”
Police were called and arrested Hancock, who told the officers in the vehicle that he was a “billionaire” and “head of the Freemasons”. While in custody he was caught on bodycam saying that if the complainants “don’t hand themselves in they’re going to get their legs blown off”.
The court heard that a month later, at 7.40am on July 5, the woman was outside getting her children ready for school when Hancock began abusing her from his bedroom window again - this time calling her a racial slur. The victim said she was particularly upset by this remark as it related to her parents’ heritage.
He went on to threaten her children and said he would “set about her with a hammer”.
He was arrested again and, while in the police car, spat phlegm on the backseat. The vehicle needed to be deep cleaned and was put out of use for the duration.
Hancock pleaded guilty to the two charges on the day of his scheduled trial.
For the defence, Matthew Stewart said that Hancock had “serious mental health issues”; though he added that this was “not an excuse” for his behaviour. He urged the court not to send him to prison, stressing that Hancock “needs assistance, not punishment”.
He added that after the incidents Hancock’s windows were smashed and his house was set on fire. He has since had to leave the property.
Mr Recorder Samuel Green KC sentenced Hancock to 20 weeks imprisonment, suspended for a year, and ordered him to carry out 15 rehabilitation activity days.