Men jailed for holding knife to sleeping man's throat in raid

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 17:02 · Archive

Two masked men broke into a North Yorkshire flat, held a kitchen knife to a sleeping man's throat and ransacked his home.

Two masked men broke into a ground-floor flat in North Yorkshire late on 28 August, waking the occupant and holding a kitchen knife to his throat while they ransacked the property. The raiders demanded to know where drugs were kept. They made off with a 55-inch television, wallet, bank cards, a bottle of vodka and the knife they had held to the victim's throat.

At York Crown Court, the victim stated in a personal statement: 'I genuinely believed I was going to die. I felt completely helpless in what should have been the safety of my own home.'

Matthew Thomas Williams, 35, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Kyle Philip Smith, then 18, had his three-year sentence suspended for three years after Judge Simon Hickey said his mitigation and the circumstances of the case meant he could take an 'exceptional course'. Both men, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary. Smith also admitted failure to attend an earlier hearing. Williams pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and cannabis when arrested for the burglary, and to two shop thefts committed after he was released on bail.

How it is being reported

• Masked men held kitchen knife to man's throat during terrifying night-time raidBalaclava clad raiders woke a North Yorkshire man and held a kitchen knife to his throat while they ransacked his home, York Crown Court heard.Gazette & Herald (Malton) · 22 Oct, 16:54
• Masked men held kitchen knife to man's throat during terrifying night-time raidBalaclava clad raiders woke a North Yorkshire man and held a kitchen knife to his throat while they ransacked his home, York Crown Court heard.York Press · 22 Oct, 16:18

In this story: Matthew Thomas Williams · Kyle Philip Smith · North Yorkshire · York Crown Court

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