Sutton woman threatened to stab disabled partner when he refused to give her drug money
A former Sutton woman who threatened to stab her disabled partner when he refused to give her money for drugs had relapsed into heroin and crack cocaine abuse following the death of her daughter, a court has heard.
Angela Hopkins asked the man for money while sitting on his bed with a knife poised to stab him on March 13 last year, Laura Hocknell, prosecuting, told Nottingham Crown Court.
"I need money,” Hopkins said. “I have got places to go. If I don't get this money I'll stab you. "
After she left he realised all his bank cards were missing and £30 had been withdrawn from one account.
Hopkins turned up at his home to demand money again in the early hours of March 29. She banged a spatula on the kitchen counter and shouted: "You don't want to mess with me. I can do you some serious harm. See what I do next."
When she picked up a knife her partner told her not to be stupid, and Hopkins replied: "Do you want to see what stupid is?"
She thrust the knife very close to his right ear. A tussle ensued and she was disarmed.
Her victim said he was left upset because “all he wanted to do was give her a better life.”
"If someone else had been in that situation it could have ended very differently," he said in a statement.
He supported the prosecution because he wants her to get help. He said their three-year relationship had been good, despite her misuse of drugs, and he looked after her finances.
He desperately tried to help her but she became aggressive when her benefits were stopped.
Nottingham Crown Court heard Hopkins has 59 previous convictions for 150 offences, largely for antisocial behaviour and begging. She has served eight weeks in custody after failing to attend court.
Digby Johnson, mitigating, said she fell into drug abuse after epilepsy prevented her from completing a computing degree.
"The two of them, committed to each other, have battled on," Mr Johnson told the court. “The offences happened in a very short space of time.”
Hopkins, 41, formerly of Wellbeck Street, Sutton, admitted common assault and affray on May 25. On Tuesday, Recorder Richard Davis handed her an 18-month community order with 20 rehabilitation days.