A MAN who disarmed his knife-wielding girlfriend only to put the blade to her throat has been jailed.
Sean Coyle, of Bath Road in Wrexham, appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court on Tuesday for sentence via video link from HMP Berwyn.
The 37-year-old had previously admitted offences of threatening a person with a blade in a public place and criminal damage.
Catherine Elvin, prosecuting, told the court that on February 13 this year, Coyle and his partner Cassie Evans had been drinking at a pub in the centre of Wrexham and were "both intoxicated."
During the afternoon, there was a dispute between the pair which resulted in Ms Evans walking away down the High Street and Coyle headbutting the window of Ladbrokes betting shop.
The window was cracked in the incident, the court heard, and Coyle was arrested.
He was released on bail with conditions not to be in the company of Ms Evans.
But on June 23, they were captured together on CCTV outside a property in Ruabon.
The footage showed an argument, in which Ms Evans initially leaves the address holding a knife.
She advanced on Coyle with the knife, but he "managed to disarm her successfully."
The fight continued, with the CCTV showing the defendant pushing the victim to the floor, dragging her and holding the blade to her throat.
Ms Evans was seen hitting the defendant in the head, before he eventually threw the knife away and the incident turned into a verbal exchange.
Ms Elvin told the court Coyle had been convicted in 2021 for assaulting the same victim.
Andrew Green, defending, conceded that the inevitable sentence was one of custody, explaining: "Mr Coyle understands the position.
"He pleaded guilty at effectively the earliest opportunity.
"In many, if not most, cases involving violent behaviour of a man towards a woman, the court rightly and fairly approached it on the basis that the victim is vulnerable.
"And this may well be one of those cases - but I submit this case is a little bit different.
"The two words that reflect this couple's relationship are chaos and toxicity.
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"This complainant could, and some would say should, have been charged with the same offence - she exited and was brandishing the knife.
"She advanced on the defendant. I don't ignore that it developed to the point where Mr Coyle's behaviour was criminal."
Mr Green said his client's time on remand hadn't been "happy," adding he had been badly assaulted in prison and had his jaw broken in several places.
Judge Nicola Saffman jailed the defendant for 10 months in total.
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