Machete wielding teen sparked terror in beer garden before being spared jail

Drinkers at a Merseyside golf club were left terrified when an 18 year old turned up in a balaclava and pulled out a machete in the middle of a beer garden. Nathan Joyce caused panic at Bowring golf club in Knowsley when he brandished the blade on 10 July, forcing frightened staff to call police, according to the Mirror.

Joyce, who appeared at Liverpool Crown Court in a tracksuit with a bloodied bandage on his arm, admitted possessing a bladed article in a public place. District Judge Gwyn Jones told him a machete was “an extremely dangerous weapon” and said Joyce had deliberately made himself look threatening. “You made your way to the beer garden area of the club where you showed that you were ‘tooled up’, that you were in possession of the machete,” the judge said.

The court heard how a member of staff at the golf course was so alarmed by Joyce’s behaviour that they immediately called officers. Judge Jones stressed the seriousness of carrying knives, particularly on licensed premises. “People would be fearful on licensed premises — a massive danger of public disorder. You wanted to be seen carrying a machete,” he said.

The judge pointed out Joyce was already subject to a youth rehabilitation order, a punishment just short of custody, but had failed to make any progress. “You are 18, subject to orders from the lower court, and that order isn’t going particularly well,” he said. “You don’t seem to have made that change from appearing before the youth court to the crown court by way of understanding your precarious position.”

Judge Jones also reminded Joyce of the real consequences of knife crime. “You know from your own experience of having been hurt by a bladed article, these are matters that can cause significant pain and death,” he said. The court heard Joyce had been using ketamine and was described by the judge as showing “an unhealthy degree of arrogance and a lack of maturity.”

He warned that had Joyce gone to trial and been convicted, he could have faced around two years behind bars. “Those who carry knives have a serious risk of harm. You should know. You have been hurt yourself,” Judge Jones said, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Despite the seriousness of the case, Joyce was spared immediate custody. He was sentenced to 12 months in a Young Offenders Institution, suspended for 18 months, and must complete 160 hours of unpaid work.

Joyce, of Mansion Drive in Croxteth, left court with the stark warning ringing in his ears that the days of being treated leniently as a youth were over. “You are an adult in an adult court, being sentenced in accordance to adult guidelines,” Judge Jones told him. “Now the sentencing options are significantly different.”