Parking row sees axe-wielding neighbour from hell cause thousands of pounds of damage

The 47-year-old was embroiled in a long-running row with his neighbours over parking on the narrow street.

He appeared at Leeds Crown Court this week when he was handed a suspended sentence after admitting to a catalogue of offences.

His charge sheet includes two counts of assault by beating, three for criminal damage, possession of a bladed article in public and making threats with a bladed article.

The court heard how Giuntoni walked into a neighbour’s home uninvited through an unlocked door on June 22.

He punched a woman in the face and threw a mug at her, which hit her in the face.

Giuntoni then targeted a male occupant, missing with an attempted punch, before throwing a candle at him, which struck the man on the chin.

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Giuntoni’s own partner then interrupted, dragging him out of the property.

After this, he grabbed an axe and set about smashing up the couple’s cars, breaking the windows and lights to a Citroen and a Range Rover.

Damage on the vehicles ran into the thousands, the court heard.

Prosecutor Sophie Lamb told the court how Giuntoni turned his attention to a neighbour who saw the ordeal, telling him he would “wipe the smile off their face.”

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Turning his attention to their home after they locked themselves in, Giuntoni struck the door with the axe three times, smashing the door’s glass.

The damage ran to more than £2,700.

Giuntoni, of Devonshire Gardens, Hyde Park, was arrested but declined to answer questions during his police interview.

Mitigating, Andrew Nixon said he used the axe to cause damage and it was never intended to injure people, saying the incident did not resemble a famous scene from the horror film The Shining.

Mr Nixon told the court: “It was not a ‘Here’s Johnny!” moment, coming through the door to kill somebody.

“It was a moment of absolute loss of control. There is remorse and regret and it was completely out of character.”

Recorder Ayesha Smart told Giuntoni: “There’s no justification for the actions you took, you went about it completely the wrong way.”

In her sentencing remarks, she brought up Giuntoni’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and said of the parking issue: “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. You really did lose it.”

Giuntoni was handed him a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, the maximum permissible length than can be suspended.

She ordered him to complete 20 rehabilitation days and 200 hours of unpaid work.

He also gave him a three-year restraining order to keep him away from the victims.