Doorbell footage captured Jamie Allen pulling a knife on a pensioner and spitting in her face after she and her husband challenged him for dumping rubbish near their Northamptonshire home.
A 29-year-old man has been jailed after doorbell camera footage captured him threatening an elderly woman with a knife and spitting at her, in an attack that came days after she and her husband caught him fly-tipping outside their home. Jamie Allen, of Duston, Northamptonshire, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years at Northampton Crown Court on 4 September after admitting a string of offences, including threats to kill and possession of a bladed article in public. The confrontation was recorded on the couple’s doorbell camera and formed part of a wider case in which Allen was also convicted of controlling and coercive behaviour against his former partner.
Fly-tipping dispute escalates into knife threat
The trouble began when the elderly couple challenged Allen after watching him empty the contents of a wheelbarrow near their property. Several days later, on 11 June, Allen was walking to his ex-partner’s house in Duston when he passed the couple’s home and noticed the doorbell camera that had recorded the earlier incident. According to footage of the confrontation, he approached the front door, tore off the camera’s cover and poured a can of alcohol over it.
When the couple came out to confront him, Allen responded with a barrage of abuse before pulling a knife from his waistband. The footage captures him repeatedly telling the pair to “film me now, film me now” as they asked him to leave, telling him he was drunk and behaving foolishly. He then swore at the couple and warned: “You laugh and all that, so I’ll put this in your front. Don’t try that on me again. I’ll put this straight in your front.”
Couple stood their ground
Despite the threats, the woman refused to back down, telling Allen she would not be “stooping” to his level and ordering him off their property. As he began attacking the doorbell with the knife, she attempted to push him away, telling him: “Don’t you touch me either. You’re threatening me with a knife.” Allen responded by warning her he would “put this straight in your knee,” before continuing his threats, spitting in her face and leaving the scene.
Wanted over separate coercive control case
At the time of the attack, Allen was already wanted by Northamptonshire Police in connection with controlling and coercive behaviour towards his ex-partner. He was subsequently charged with two counts of threats to kill, assault by beating, possession of a knife blade in a public place, criminal damage to property and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour. Allen admitted five of the six charges, while one count of making threats to kill was ordered to remain on file.
Alongside his prison sentence, Allen was handed two restraining orders: an indefinite order protecting the elderly couple, and a five-year order protecting his former partner. Both orders prohibit him from contacting any of the three victims, either directly or indirectly.
Police praise victims’ courage
Detective Constable Rachael McDaid of Northamptonshire Police said Allen’s conduct towards both the elderly couple and his ex-partner had been “completely unacceptable.” She said: “He used threats, intimidation, and violence to control and frighten those around him, leaving a lasting impact on the people he targeted, and I would like to thank them all for their support throughout this investigation.” DC McDaid added that she wished to “commend the courage shown by Allen’s ex-partner who reported his controlling and coercive behaviour, as well as the bravery of the elderly couple who stood up to him despite being subjected to his threatening and aggressive behaviour.”
