A Warwick man was sentenced to probation after admitting threatening hs landlord with a knife.

Dimetri Robinson, 35, of Spring Hill, had earlier pleaded guilty to having a bladed article in a public place and using it in a threatening manner against his landlord, Edwin Lee.

Robinson and his wife had rented a room from Mr Lee since April 2013, but the two men got into a dispute on January 6 after the landlord noticed that a PlayStation video game console was missing. Eventually Mr Lee ordered Robinson to leave the property, but the tenant returned with a seven-and-a-half-inch kitchen knife which he pointed at Mr Lee, yelling: “I ain’t going nowhere. You ain’t kicking me out.”

Mr Lee fled to a neighbour’s house where he called the police and Robinson was later arrested on a road near the property.

Before being sentenced yesterday, Robinson said that he had no intention to use the knife, but he wanted to protect his wife, who he claimed had been threatened by Mr Lee. He also alleged that he had been attacked by Mr Lee on several occasions in the past.

Robinson has since moved out of the property but his wife still lives there. He told the court that he was a qualified landscaper who had been out of work for three years and was desperate to find a job so that he could afford to rent a home for both himself and his wife. He also acknowledged that he was an alcoholic, but vowed to stay away from drink.

“I am very sorry for picking up that knife but I was protecting my wife. I love her very much and she can’t protect herself,” Robinson said.

“But I had no intention of stabbing him or slicing him. I swing machetes for a living and I know what they can do.”

Robinson was sentenced to two years’ probation and must attend a drug and alcohol treatment programme.