Thug attacked man in his own Pontefract home and stole drugs and money
A thug who attacked a man in his own home then demanded he hand over his drugs has been jailed.
Liam Ferguson went to the man’s property in Pontefract with another male and they were both let in before Ferguson attacked him and demanded he give them pregabalin tablets.
They got away with money and 42 tablets of the prescription drug which is used to treat nerve pain, but is often abused drug users to create feelings of euphoria and relaxation.
Ferguson, 35, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after he admitted the attack. He also admitted stalking offences in relation to his ex partner, whom he also threatened to kill.
Prosecutor Brian Russell said the couple had split earlier this year, but he would follow her around. In May he was stood outside of the Horse Vaults pub in Pontefract town centre when she was enjoying a drink inside.
She agreed to give him £20 and she later went to nightclub. He was outside waiting for her when she left the club in the early hours.
Ferguson turned up at her home demanding to be let in on another occasion. When she refused, he grabbed her through the open window.
Days later he spent five minutes shouting at her through her letterbox, and later that night was again hanging around outside the pub where she was.
On June 10 when she saw him, he crossed his throat with his finger, signalling a death threat to her.
Appearing in court via video link from HMP Leeds, he admitted ABH, theft, stalking involving the fear of violence, threats to kill, threats to damage property and resisting arrest.
The court heard Ferguson, of Chequerfield Road, Pontefract has dozens of previous convictions.
Mitigating, Leila Taleb said Ferguson had a troubled childhood in which both his parents had drug problems. She said: “He has clearly carried some of those troubles forward in his adult life. It’s perhaps context to why he has acted the way he did.”
She said his record was largely made up of thefts stemming from his own drug problem.
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told him: “You have a bad record. I’m afraid it has to be a custodial sentence and I think you realise that yourself.”
He jailed him for 32 months in total, and gave him a restraining order of indefinite length to keep him away from his ex.