A man who approached police with a carving knife before his arrest sparked ugly scenes on a Hamilton South street in June has been given a jail term.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Mitchel Randell, also known as Mitchell Dean Randall, was on Thursday sentenced to a maximum of 18 months in jail - with a nine-month non-parole period - for the incident that unfolded in the Newcastle suburb during a month-long spike in abuse and assaults of police across the Hunter and Central Coast.
The 28-year-old previously pleaded guilty to one count of using an offensive weapon with intent to commit the indictable offence of intimidation, along with two unrelated charges - trespassing and willful obscene exposure in public - committed at Hamilton in April.
According to a statement of agreed facts tendered to Newcastle Local Court, two uniformed senior constables were driving a marked police vehicle through Hamilton South on the afternoon of June 23 after a report that a brawl was taking place.
The officers found a group of four people arguing on the corner of Hassall Street.
The group walked up the street as the officers passed - the senior constables turned around and slowly followed them with the driver's side window down.
The officer driving the police vehicle turned his body-worn camera on before Randell approached the open window.
Randell was holding a 30cm-long knife with a serrated edge in his left hand, in an underhand fashion that meant the blade was tucked against his wrist and lower arm.
As Randell approached the car with the knife, the driver screamed at him to "f*** off" several times while scrambling towards the passenger seat.
The car rolled forward, putting space between the armed man and the officers - who then both got out of the car and moved to arrest Randell.
The officer who was the passenger pulled his gun and aimed it at Randell, telling him to put the knife down before seeing it had already been discarded onto the road.
Randell ignored orders to get down onto the ground and another man, Christopher James Pyne, began to interfere with police as they tried to detain Randell.
Pyne was capsicum sprayed and later pleaded guilty to affray and hindering police and was sentenced to a 10-month jail term, which is being served as an Intensive Corrections Order in the community.
"There was a mob nearby, some of whom also approached police in a threatening manner," the agreed facts in Randell's case said.
When Randell was handcuffed, the senior constable who had been driving said: "I thought I was going to die".
Randell has been in custody since his arrest and the sentence handed down on Thursday was back-dated to June 23, meaning he will be first eligible for parole in March.
While you're with us, did you know the Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here
IN THE NEWS:
- Coronavirus in the Hunter: junior sport canned, deep cleaning continues
- NPL: Adamstown matches first to be called off amid COVID-19 scare
- Newcastle Jets postpone junior games in Sydney competitions over coronavirus fears
- Coronavirus: Dr Kat Taylor answers frequently asked questions while Hunter is on high alert
- Who, what, where, when: Everything you need to know about the Hunter's coronavirus cases
