A hammer-wielding schizophrenic who stripped off his clothes after being chased by Police through the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MAWI) had threatened to kill his girlfriend the day before, a court heard yesterday.

Marcel Reid Rubaine locked his girlfriend Georgena Shanica Wilson in her car before driving her along South Road in Devonshire and telling her: ?I am going to kill you and your daughter.?

The next day he led Police officers on a high-speed car chase, at one stage driving at more than 100 kph along Palmetto Road.

Rubaine, of Secret Lane, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, possession of an offensive weapon in an increased penalty zone, assault causing actual bodily harm and using threatening words last month.

He was due to be sentenced yesterday but Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves adjourned the Supreme Court hearing until Tuesday as he said he wanted to be sure that MAWI was able to admit Rubaine, whom he remanded in custody.

The judge said he was likely to make an order that the 28-year-old be detained under the Mental Health Act.

If that wasn?t possible, he recommended a custodial sentence of no more than 18 months.

Prosecutor Cindy Clarke had earlier told the court that Rubaine picked his girlfriend up from work for lunch on May 11.

?As the vehicle reached the Botanical Gardens entrance, the defendant reached over to where the complainant was sitting, grabbed a hold of her hair and proceeded to shake the shocked and terrified complainant?s head,? she said. ?He then looked the complainant in the face and remarked ?Honey, you know I love you, I won?t hurt you?.?

Ms Wilson managed to open the car door and told Rubaine she was thirsty, said Ms Clarke.

?He replied: ?You ain?t getting nothing to drink. You know our favourite spot you like to eat at, Devonshire Bay? It?s a lot of salt water down there for you to drink. I am going to kill you and your daughter?.?

Ms Clarke said Rubaine pushed his girlfriend towards the open door while the car was still moving. When he pulled up at a stop sign near Watlington Road, she managed to escape with the help of a taxi driver.

The next day Rubaine was spotted by a policeman sitting in his girlfriend?s Peugeot on Cedar Park Road, Devonshire.

When the officer asked him to turn the engine off, he drove into a Police truck and towards other Police vehicles as he tried to escape. A chase through Devonshire ensued during which other drivers had to swerve out of the way to avoid the Peugeot.

Ms Clarke said Rubaine eventually crashed into an oncoming Police vehicle, ultimately causing almost $14,000 worth of damage to the Peugeot, and injuring a policeman. An officer used incapacitating spray to try to bring Rubaine under control but the Jamaican-born father-of-one drove off again.

He went to MAWI and entered the hospital armed with a hammer. ?The defendant ran through two unlocked doors with the Police chasing him? said Ms Clarke. ?When confronted by the arresting officers, the defendant raised his hammer in a threatening manner towards them. ?He was told to drop the hammer. The defendant dropped the hammer and proceeded to take his clothes off.?

She said Rubaine told Police: ?F**k you, I want a brother to arrest me, not a white piece of s**t!?

Later, at Hamilton Police Station, he told officers he thought Ms Wilson had been cheating on him ?in my bed with some other n****r?.

The court heard that Rubaine had numerous previous convictions, including assaults on women and possession of weapons and drugs.

Rick Woolridge Jr., mitigating, said his client wanted to be placed on a treatment programme and hoped to eventually become a productive member of society.