Водитель такси в Кардиффе спасся от пассажира с молотком: суд приговорил нарушителя к 314 дням заключения

Man with claw hammer left Cardiff taxi driver panicked after terrifying journey The driver of the taxi was 'terrified' during the duration of the journey, a court has heard A taxi driver was "terrified" after a man entered his vehicle carrying a claw hammer in the early hours of the morning. Cardiff Crown Court heard how in the early hours of the morning, on Sunday, February 15, Cameron Bennett was picked up by a taxi in the Ely area of Cardiff. ‌ When Bennett came out of an address and approached the vehicle, the driver noticed a large claw hammer in the defendant's hand, estimated to be around 30cm in length, the court heard. ‌ The driver was "terrified" by what he saw, and feared he was going to be threatened with the weapon. Bennett entered the front passenger side of the vehicle and asked to be taken to Castle Street in Cardiff. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here ‌ The court heard how the driver attempted to calm and comfort the defendant in conversation during the journey as he was "behaving erratically." It was heard how the driver was feeling an "increased feeling of panic" as he travelled with Bennett who, whilst the car was still in motion, moved from the front seat of the car to the rear seat, moving from side to side with no seat belt on, whilst "acting erratic and jumping around." The driver continued to focus his efforts on calming him down, as he was concerned by Bennett's demeanour, the court heard. ‌ He dropped Bennett off at the corner of Queen Street and John Street in Cardiff at 5.10am as he wanted to drop him off in a place highly populated "in case anything happened." Bennett did not want to leave the vehicle and asked to be taken to his requested location, but the driver told him he had another job to take. Bennett then got out of the vehicle, and could be seen immediately looking to get into another taxi, but the driver of the first vehicle gestured not to pick him up, and he was rejected. ‌ The court heard that "fortuitously", police passed by and the taxi driver flagged them down to report what happened. At that point, he saw Bennett get into a third taxi and he gave officers a description of the vehicle the defendant was in. He also handed them Bennett's phone which he found in the rear of his vehicle. The court heard Bennett was later arrested and gave a no comment interview to police. He was released under investigation and then on May 23, he was found in possession of a cleaver in a separate incident. Bennett, 22, of St Fagans, Cardiff, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court for sentencing having pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and possessing a bladed article. ‌ Recorder Robin Rouch, sentencing Bennett, said: "Your behaviour extremely alarmed the driver. I accept you didn't threaten him directly with it, but getting into the taxi with that in the early hours of the morning, he described himself as being terrified. He tried to calm you down as he was worried you may assault him. Your behaviour was erratic. You did not make any threats but the perception he had at that time caused him real distress. "Ultimately he dropped you off, you got into another taxi and you were pointed out to the police. The hammer was found at the rear footwell and you were arrested and answered no comment during police interview. "You were released under investigation and following that you committed the second offence on May 23, where police became aware of an incident of you being in possession of a cleaver. You were arrested near McDonald's on Newport Road, and CCTV showed you depositing the knife in some foliage near a garage." Article continues below Bennett was jailed for 314 days. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice.