A 25-YEAR-OLD man has told a court how he was threatened with a kitchen knife when he confronted the man who had stolen more than £2,000 of his money.
The alleged victim of the attack was giving evidence on the first day of the trial in the Royal Court of 26-year-old Liam Andrew White.
Mr White denies grave and criminal assault – and said he only told the man to leave the flat where they met, and did not pick up a knife.
The incident is said to have taken place in a property in St Helier on the evening of 6 November 2023.
Crown Advocate Paul Lee, prosecuting, said the man was visiting the occupant of the flat when Mr White later arrived there.
The man had previously noticed that £2,391 had gone missing from his bank account and believed Mr White had stolen it by accessing his bank account when he had borrowed his mobile phone.
Mr White later pleaded guilty to the theft in court the following February.
He had arrived at the flat on a brand new scooter and the victim believed he had bought the vehicle with the money he stole, the court heard.
The alleged victim told the court: “I said to him: ‘That’s a nice scooter.’
“He said: ‘It would be nice if I smashed your parents’ windows.’
“He grabbed the collar of my jacket in his left hand and he had a knife in his right hand, close to my head. If I had jolted my head it would have been in touch.
“He said: ‘Get the f*** out of here. I’m not afraid to use it if I have to.”
The jurors were shown a knife with a 20cm blade that Mr White is alleged to have used during the incident.
Advocate Chris Baglin, defending, questioned the man’s version of events.
He said of Mr White: “He didn’t challenge you to a fight. He just wanted you to leave.”
The alleged victim replied: “That’s incorrect.”
The advocate said: “Because you refused to leave, he pulled you up by the collar of your jacket and marched you to the door.”
The alleged victim again said: “Incorrect.”
Advocate Baglin said: “There was no knife.”
The alleged victim replied: “Liam White went to the kitchen and got a knife.”
The court was also shown a text message Mr White had sent a friend that night, boasting of threatening someone with a knife. But in his police interview read out in court he had said: “It was a joke. I was just trying to show off.”
He had added: “There was no knife. If I wanted to hurt someone I would use my hands.”
Commissioner Alan Binnington is presiding. The trial is expected to finish on Tuesday.
