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A feud between neighbours ended with a man staring down the barrel of a gun, just metres from Folkestone police station.
Convict Jamie Farmer was wrestled from a courtroom shouting “What am I going to do? I’m going to lose everything,” and screaming obscenities as he was handed his sentence.
Judge Catherine Brown watched the 48-year-old as he tried to escape the grip of security staff.
The judge had jailed Farmer for 14 months for putting the “fear of death” into his neighbour, with whom he shared bad blood.
The court heard off-duty PC Mark Kemp happened on Farmer pointing what he believed was a sawn-off shotgun at the man, outside their apartment block, near Folkestone police station.
Frightened and without armour, the officer bear-hugged Farmer and wrestled him to the ground, spilling the weapon on the floor. The weapon turned out to be an imitation.
Prosecutor Jenny Burgess told how onlookers heard the two men threatening to kill each other, when Farmer drew the weapon and pointed it at his neighbour’s head.
The ex-Morrison’s worker, who has 72 convictions for 147 offences, was jailed for 14 months at Canterbury Crown Court.
Ms Burgess explained Farmer and his neighbour, who live almost next door to the Bouverie Road West based police station, were embroiled in a longstanding row.
The pair finally clashed outside their Trevarra Court apartment before the weapon was pulled on April 24.
The court heard Farmer armed himself with the weapon before walking to a pharmacy for a methadone prescription.
Mitigating, Andrew Forsyth told the court the drama was a “moment of madness in the grips of provocation.”
“My client is frustrated he fell into the trap set for him by reacting in this way.”
But when Judge Brown commended the officer’s bravery and scalded Farmer for putting “the fear of death” into the public, he brought chaos to the court.
“You pointed it at the head of Mr Rooney and were making aggressive statements.
“The police officer quite understandably thought it was a real firearm,” explained Judge Brown.
“It was used in a way that caused a fear of death. It might not have been able to cause death but that was the feeling of people confronted by it.”
After her verdict Farmer refused to return to the cells, instead shouting aggressively at the Judge.
“I’m going to lose everything, my flat, my partner, what am I supposed to do judge?” he shouted repeatedly.
“You can go down now,” she said, before two guards were forced to wrestle him out of the dock, as Farmer’s partner appeared to cry.
Farmer, who has spent four months on remand, was sentenced to 12 months for causing fear with an imitation firearm.
He was also sentenced to a further two months for breaching a 12-week suspended sentence for assaulting an emergency worker and racial aggravation.
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