A vodka-fuelled thug who held a knife against a woman's throat and threatened to kill her has avoided an immediate jail sentence. Lee Harrison, 34, cornered his victim in the kitchen, warning her: "I'm going to kill you and then I'll kill myself. I'll write a letter and say it was all your fault."
Harrison had "drunk an entire bottle of vodka" on the morning of November 13, 2023. He woke up in the afternoon, "pinned his victim against a wall" and hurled abusive insults at her, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Police called after threats
Harrison subsequently left the property in Billingham and contacted the police. "He told them that he was going to take his own life," Cole Cockburn, prosecuting, informed the court on Thursday. Officers located Harrison "by the side of the A19" and took him into custody.
He was on police bail at the time, for an offence carried out against the same woman just weeks prior. The court was told that on October 27 that year, Harrison pinned his victim down and choked her on her bed. He told her "if I want to hit you, I will. I f****** hate you", reports Teesside Live.
Strangulation and apology
Mr Cockburn said: "He put his hands around her neck and squeezed tightly. He loosened his grip before squeezing again." The victim disclosed that she punched Harrison as hard as she could in the face in a bid to stop him from strangling her. Harrison vacated the property before sending an apology the following morning.
Mr Cockburn read the message out in court. Harrison wrote: "Sorry, I won't do it again. It wasn't me. It was the drink." He subsequently contacted police, informing them he was experiencing a mental health episode, Mr Cockburn said.
Victim's statement
The court was told that Harrison and his victim have had no contact over the past three years. The victim rose to her feet in court to deliver a personal statement. She said that she "desperately wants to move house" and that her head "is locked in a mental prison" surrounded by the traumatic memories of what happened to her in her home.
"I have a fire proof letter box, as I fear that he will burn the house down," she said. "I have alarms fitted." She further revealed that her mother now accompanies her wherever she goes as she lives "in fear".
Sentencing
Harrison, of Paris Place, Marton, entered guilty pleas to threatening a person with a blade in a private place, and to intentional strangulation, on the day he was due to stand trial. His barrister, Victoria Lamballe, said the offences were carried out when Harrison "had a significant alcohol problem. A problem compounded by his use of illicit drugs."
The victim described the defendant "as a lovely man and said he changed when he began to drink vast quantities of alcohol, in her initial statement," Ms Lamballe added. Harrison is now nine months clean of alcohol, having voluntarily attended rehab, his barrister told the court.
She said: "He's candid enough to say that each day without alcohol is a struggle. He cares for his elderly grandparents, and that they would suffer if he is sent to prison today."
Judge Andrew Sutcliffe told Harrison, who stood in the dock wearing a black shirt: "Your victim lives under a permanent state of fear and anxiety that these dreadful events might be repeated. I am persuaded by the fact that since these events have taken place, you have not contacted her, I am persuaded for that reason, to step back from an immediate custodial sentence."
The judge said Harrison's "character changed quite dramatically," when under the influence of drink and drugs. Harrison left court with a three-year prison sentence, suspended for two years. As conditions of his suspended sentence, he must undertake a two-year mental health treatment requirement and complete 26 sessions of an accredited programme delivered by the Probation Service.
He will be fitted with an electronic tag to enable monitoring of his whereabouts. Harrison was banned from approaching his victim's home, while a restraining order was imposed, barring him from contacting his victim for the next 10 years.
