Rugby man brandished an axe after an argument over weeing in the street

Burim Kuka had denied possessing a bladed article in public – but changed his plea to guilty on the day of his trial at Warwick Crown Court.

Kuka (35) of William Street, Rugby, was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years, and was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and to pay £450 costs.

Prosecutor Lisa Hancox said that in June 2017 two men met up intending to play football in a local park.

But instead they spent their time sitting in a car on a car park in William Street, about 50 metres from Kuka’s home, chatting and catching up.

At around 11pm one of them got out to relieve himself – and nearby Kuka, who was with his girlfriend and another friend, was also urinating on the car park as his girlfriend remonstrated with him for doing so.

Thinking what she was saying was directed at him, the man said something back towards the group.

And when his friend also got out of the car there was a fight between them and Kuka’s friend.

Miss Hancox stressed that Kuka was not involved in anything unlawful at that stage, but during the incident he got cut to his back with a knife.

“The defendant was aggrieved by that, and went into his house and obtained an axe which he then brought outside.”

On seeing the axe, the other two men quickly left the scene, and shortly afterwards the police arrived and arrested Kuka.

When he was questioned, he showed officers the cuts to his back, and said he had got the axe because he was fearful for his safety.

Adam Western, defending, said Kuka, who now accepted he should not have come back out with the axe, had been given a community order for an offence of battery since that incident.

And Judge Anthony Potter commented that he had ‘responded very commendably’ while subject to that order.