Grandad, 37, smashed up pub with hammer after his ‘drink was spiked’

A grandad says he believes that he was spiked after his ‘disgraceful behaviour’ saw him fly into a rage and accuse pubgoers of stealing his car keys.

Kyle Williams, 37, had been drinking at the Rose and Crown in Wallasey, Wirral with his family on March 15 when shortly before midnight he became ‘argumentative and aggressive’.

Even after the landlady tried to calm him down, two regulars were forced to intervene, which sparked Williams to say, ‘Who are you threatening?’ before leaving the pub.

He later returned to the premises armed with a hammer, smashed a window and threatened fellow customers with the weapon.

He shouted ‘No one threatens me,’ while being followed by his 13-year-old son, who was brandishing a knife.

This caused some customers to run in fear while several others again intervened. Williams smashed a glass panel in a door before leaving again.

Later that evening, he had to be tasered when the police came knocking at his door. Williams left the property through a back exit but was located on a nearby street and tasered, before being handcuffed.

His criminal record found a total of 13 previous convictions for 28 offences, including receiving a community order in 2019 for possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Defending solicitor John Rowan told the court: ‘He has now been in custody for some 28 days. He is not a stranger to custody, but his last sentence of imprisonment was some 17 years ago. He has been in stable accommodation for some time and is in long-term employment, which is still open to him.

‘He is a father of three and he is a grandfather to one. He is a far cry from the 20-year-old who went to prison for drug and driving offences. The past few weeks have been sobering for him.

‘He has had time to reflect on how he behaved that night. He fully accepts that his behaviour was disgraceful. What happened that evening is something he cannot get his head around. That is not the man he perceived himself to be. While he has previous convictions, none of them are for violence.’

Mr Rowan said his client maintains he might have been ‘spiked by an individual in the pub’, sparking his paranoia and irrationality.

He added: ‘He wants it known how ashamed he is. He wants to apologise to each and every person who was affected by his actions.

‘He is particularly ashamed that his 13-year-old son became embroiled in this incident. It was a complete dereliction of his duties as a father.’

Williams admitted making threats with an offensive weapon and criminal damage. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he puffed out his cheeks, bowed his head and rubbed his eyes with his right hand as he was handed a 14-month imprisonment suspended for two years.

Sentencing, Recorder Richard Pratt KC said: ‘On that night, no doubt fuelled by drink, you behaved outrageously. You were threatening and abusive to people who you thought, wrongly, had stolen your keys and, much worse, you returned having armed yourself with a hammer.

‘It is a significant aggravating feature that, at that time, you were accompanied by your 13-year-old son, who also had with him a knife. While you have previous convictions, it is clear to me that what happened on this night was outside of your normal character.’

He added: ‘I strongly urge you to take this chance. I doubt very much that this chance will be offered to you again.’

Williams was also told to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days, a programme requirement and a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement.

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