Sheffield Crown Court: Customer pulled out axe after dispute at Barnsley garage

A disgruntled customer had a hatchet and an imitation firearm during a dispute at a South Yorkshire garage.
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Sheffield Crown Court heard on October 21 how Wojtek Trzebniak, aged 53, had been complaining to QNQ Motor Services, on West Road, in Barnsley, about work and damage to his vehicle when he made threats and showed the weapons to an employee.

Ian West, prosecuting, said the defendant initially complained, saying ‘I will bury you in the woods’, after his car had undergone two lots of unresolved repairs and it had allegedly suffered damage.

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Mr West added that Trzebniak attended the garage in August and an employee saw a hatchet in the defendant’s Ford Fiesta and the defendant showed the employee an imitation firearm in a rucksack in the back of the vehicle.

QNQ Garage in Barnsley, where Sheffield Crown Court heard how a customer had an axe during a dispute. (pic: Google)QNQ Garage in Barnsley, where Sheffield Crown Court heard how a customer had an axe during a dispute. (pic: Google)
QNQ Garage in Barnsley, where Sheffield Crown Court heard how a customer had an axe during a dispute. (pic: Google)

Trzebniak pulled out the Bereta replica handgun and said ‘we will shoot him’, before placing the imitation firearm back in the bag and shutting the boot, according to Mr West.

Mr West said: “He then reached into the vehicle and pulled the axe out and said ‘we will chop him up’.

“The defendant then left the premises. Not surprisingly the police were contacted and attended upon the defendant at his home address.”

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Trzebniak, of Rydal Street, Castleford, pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent and to possessing an offensive weapon in public.

Sean Fritchley, defending, said: “He was unhappy with the service. He repeatedly took the car back and it was never rectified and he insisted they should have been looking at a full gear box replacement.”

Mr Fritchley added Trzebniak was born in Poland and he had lived under a communist regime and it has been difficult for him to come to terms with how matters should be properly resolved.The defendant claimed the axe had been bought for camping, according to Mr Fritchley, and the BB gun had been among clothing because he had also had it on a camping trip.

Trzebniak is also a lorry driver and if he was jailed it would have an impact on the lorry driver shortage, according to Mr Fritchley.

Mr Justice Richard Jacobs sentenced Trzebniak to ten months of custody suspended for two years with a rehabilitation requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work.