A Rickmansworth man was handed a suspended sentence for wandering into the reception at Watford General Hospital holding a knife.
Daniel Hickey, 35, of Pollards, Maple Cross received the 12-month sentence at St Albans Crown Court on December 3, suspended for 24 months, after pleading guilty to possessing a blade in a public place.
Last July, he walked up to the hospital’s reception desk before drawing a three-to-four-inch knife from his right pocket.
Prosecutor Adam Squibbs said the threat was “serious” and that Hickey had claimed he was “looking for help”.
It was only after the A&E was evacuated and a doctor asked for him to hand over the knife twice that Hickey complied.
Mitigating, the court heard of his struggles with mental health, with an acute symptom for an unknown condition being the reason for his actions in July.
Hickey’s last conviction was in 2009 and he has up until now stayed out of trouble. The court was told he would benefit from treatment.
As part of his sentence, Hickey also must also follow a curfew between 8pm and 6am, a 20-day rehabilitation requirement and a alcohol treatment programme.
Sentencing, Recorder Lennard said: “Going into a hospital with a knife and waving it around was appalling.”
He also warned Hickey of the potential of jail time, but said the man had suffered from generalised anxiety disorder and “severe episodes”.
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