Caldicot man threatened to shoot police during armed siege

Nathan Leatherland, 32, threw cans of lager and shards of glass at officers during the face-off in Caldicot, Newport Crown Court was told.

Police found the defendant standing outside his flat in Denny View holding two cans of Heineken after being called there following reports of a man making threats.

Leatherland ran inside the property, stuck his middle finger up at officers after locking the door and smashing a window.

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Jac Brown, prosecuting, said: “He then picked up some of the larger glass fragments and threw them towards the firearms officers who had attended the scene.

“The disruptive behaviour of the defendant caused members of the public to leave their houses to see what was causing the disturbance.

“By this point Mr Leatherland was described as slurring his words and shouting threats to shoot officers from the top floor window of the property with him alluding that he had military training and having nine bullets ready to shoot the police.”

Officers realised that the defendant was “intoxicated” and siege negotiators were called to the scene to persuade him to give up.

“Mr Leatherland still refused to engage and he then proceeded to throw three cans of alcohol, a torch, a screwdriver and also his mobile phone which broke up on contact with an officer’s shield,” Mr Brown added.

The defendant was arrested in the early hours of the morning of Friday, January 5 after police stormed the building when he started to self-harm.

The showdown lasted around 45 minutes.

Leatherland admitted affray and causing criminal damage to the window belonging to Monmouthshire Housing Association.

He was found guilty of criminal damage after urinating in a police van after being taken to a hospital for treatment.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) after he had poured hot water from a kettle over his cellmate Jason Pritchard while they were in Cardiff Prison.

That attack had taken place earlier last year on November 4.

Leatherland, who represented himself, confessed he had lost his temper during the incident in January in Caldicot after having just had a confrontation with a group.

He said that one of them had owed him money.

The defendant added that he regretted assaulting Pritchard after they had rowed in their cell over missing food and tobacco.

Referring to the face-off, Judge Shomon Khan told Leatherland: “By your own admission you lost control and you agree that it became a bit of a siege where the police and firearms officers had to attend and deal with you.

“You made all sorts of threats to police officers. You threw glass and other items at them and it was a sustained incident over a significant period of time.”

He was jailed for eight months for the affray and a consecutive sentence of six months for the ABH, making a total term of 14 months in prison.