An 18-year-old threatened a couple with a machete after parking on their driveway.
Kaden Hills appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court today (28 June) where he admitted possessing a blade in a public place and using threatening words or behaviour.
Prosecutor Keith Ballinger said the defendant parked his blue Mazda 2 on a driveway in Birkdale Close, Redhouse, on the afternoon of 10 May this year.
A woman came out of the property and asked him to move the vehicle before the pair exchanged abusive words. The woman’s husband joined a short time later – telling the teenager to “get the f**k off” their driveway.
Hills proceeds to drive his car a short distance down the road before getting a machete out of the boot and walking back towards to pair – while shouting abuse.
Police officers were called to the scene, obtained doorbell camera footage of the incident from two addresses and later arrested the defendant in the Fleming Way area. The machete was never recovered.
In a custody interview, Hills, of Redruth Close, Park North, said he did not realise the driveway was for a specific property and that he was initially approached in an abusive manner.
He claimed the woman threatened to ‘get her man out’ before he allegedly arrived with a baseball bat in hand. Concerned for his safety, he armed himself with the machete. The teenager accepted it was not a reasonable response.
Gordon Hotson, defending, asked the court to adjourn the case for a pre-sentence report. Magistrates agreed and adjourned the case until a date in July.
