Darren Davies believed another man had attacked his younger brother
20:36, 17 Apr 2025Updated 21:20, 17 Apr 2025
Darren Davies, of Littledale Road, Wallasey, pleaded guilty to affray and possession of an offensive weapon(Image: Merseyside Police)
A man who pulled out a samurai sword outside a pub said “I wish I just stayed at my girlfriend’s house”. Darren Davies, 23, produced the weapon after he made a phone call to a man called Christopher O’Keefe, who he believed had assaulted his younger brother.
Once Mr O’Keefe arrived outside the Five Bars Rest pub in Seacombe, Davies came out of the pub wielding the samurai sword and chased away his victim. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court told the defendant today, Thursday, April 17: “Serious risk of disorder is obvious when someone is running around the streets with that sort of weapon”.
Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, told the court the defendant accepted a phone call was made and Mr O’Keefe came to the pub on September 17 last year. He said CCTV showed Mr O’Keefe arriving before “the defendant produced the sword and started swinging it around in front of him”.
Mr Hopkins added: “Mr O’Keefe backs away. The second piece of the footage shows the defendant running after Mr O’Keefe.” The court heard the two men went out of sight of the camera, with the victim receiving a 5mm laceration to the back of his head.
However, Mr Hopkins said “it is accepted the defendant was not responsible for causing injury”. He added the crown had difficulty with the case as Mr O’Keefe had not come to court despite the fact he had been summoned.
The court heard Davies, of Littledale Road in Wallasey, had eight convictions for 11 offences, including threatening behaviour, affray, breaching a restraining order and handling stolen goods. He most recently received a two year prison sentence for possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and was out on licence at the time of this offence.
In mitigation, Gerald Baxter, defending, told the court his client was “very remorseful”. He said: “Mr Davies has asked me to say he’s very sorry for what happened. He believed that the victim had attacked his younger brother.
“His younger brother is autistic, something the defendant felt very strongly about. He went over the top, as they say. He didn’t take the sword to the pub. He says it was already there. He took it and fortunately didn’t cause any serious harm. If he really wanted to do some serious injury to that young man he could have done. It petered out.”
Mr Baxter said his client had previously done some work with his dad as a plasterer and wanted to go back to it. The barrister said: “He was earning a good wage and enjoyed it. He wishes he never threw that away, but he can go back to it.”
The court heard the Probation Service said his dad’s address would not be a suitable address for Davies to return to because of “safeguarding concerns for siblings”. However, Mr Baxter said: “The defendant is adamant he can go back. His father has visited him twice and telephoned him last night and told him he can go back and live there. Time is a great healer. The defendant has even more to lose if he starts behaving badly.”
Asking for his client to have a 20% reduction following his guilty pleas, Mr Baxter said: “He has shown a continuing improvement in his attitude. He did ask me to say to the court how sorry he is and realises how serious it was. He says he wishes he stayed at his girlfriend’s house that night.”
Sentencing, Recorder Brendan O’Leary told Davies that almost immediately after Mr O’Keefe arrived at the pub the defendant “put his hood up and waved a samurai sword”. He told Davies: “You pursued him. Mr O’Keefe had his hands out in a defensive action.
“I have seen a different angle on CCTV which shows you running after him.” The judge said the victim suffered minor injuries, but added “I do not hold you responsible for those injuries”. Recorder O’Leary said Davies had relevant convictions and a history of poor compliance with court orders.
However, he accepted there was genuine remorse and the defendant had a history of mental health issues including depression, anxiety and suspected post-traumatic stress disorder after he was attacked in a separate incident.
Recorder O’Leary told the defendant the aggravating features outweighed his mitigation and said only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate. Davies was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Davies, who wore a bubble jacket and sported brown hair, nodded his head and thanked the judge as he went with the dock officer to the cells.