Teen shouted 'I am going to come in and kill your family' as couple left terrified in remote Hitchin farmhouse
The teen was shouting 'I am going to get you' as the couple who lived there were left fearing for their lives
South Beds News Agency
St Albans Crown Court (Image: South Beds News Agency/John O Reilly)
A couple who were asleep in a remote farmhouse near Hitchin were caused "genuine terror and fear" by a random teenager who was armed with a large kitchen knife.
Harry Faul, now 19, had been drinking and smoking cannabis when he set the dogs barking at New Wrights Farm, Pirton.
Prosecutor Andrea Scott-Lynch told St Albans Crown Court yesterday (Friday, September 10) that the couple were awoken and the man went outside as his dogs were "going crazy and would not settle down."
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She went on: "He [the victim] had a powerful torch, walked through the gate and turned into the yard.
"The defendant was walking towards him using his mobile phone as a torch in one hand and had a kitchen knife in the other. It was a huge knife with a six- to eight-inch blade.
"He was shouting: 'I am going to get you.'"
Faul told him "I have lost my girlfriend" and went on to say "I am going to come in and kill your family".
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The man, who was in fear for his life, called the police as Faul banged on the door.
Faul, who was continuing to shout, turned away and walked down the drive, shining his torch into cars.
A police officer arrived and found Faul nearby. He was acting in a jerky and uncoordinated way. He shone the red dot from his taser at him and Faul shouted: "Shoot me."
Other officers arrived and Faul eventually removed the knife from his waistband and put it on the ground. He went down onto his knees and was arrested.
The owner told the police: "I had no idea who he was or what he was doing at the farm."
Faul, of Trinity Road, Stotfold, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to affray and having a blade in the early hours of the morning of May 9 last year. He had no previous convictions.
In a prepared statement to Hertfordshire Police the next day he said he had gone out to clear his head.
He said he had taken the knife with him because he had previously been attacked in Letchworth.
"I did not go to the farm deliberately, I was just walking," he said.
Brad Lawlor, defending, said the offence was last year and Faul had not contacted the couple since.
He said: "It was traumatising for them. It must have been a terrifying experience.
"The defendant shows remorse. There is no indication he knew the complainants or intended to attend their farm. It was a random incident."
Mr Lawlor said Faul suffered hallucinations that were made worse by drink and drugs.
"He had taken cannabis and a fair amount of alcohol that night," he said.
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He now lives in supported accommodation and is on anti-psychotic medication.
Judge Michael Simon said he had caused "genuine terror and fear" to the victims at 3am at the remote farmhouse.
He said he would have received an immediate sentence of detention had it not been for the mitigating factors.
He received an eight-month sentence suspended for 18 months and must attend 20 rehabilitation days.
The judge also made an order banning him from contacting the couple or going to the farm for the next three years.
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