A KNIFE-wielding teenager who demanded money from a vulnerable man in his bedroom in a supported accommodation complex has been jailed for two years.

Juraj Lakatos was found guilty of attempted robbery following a trial after previously pleading guilty to non-fatal strangulation.

Bradford Crown Court heard how he grabbed the victim from behind and put his neck in a headlock before brandishing a bread knife and demanding that he “open the safe”.

He had previously offered to help the man order books online.

When the victim begged him to let go, Lakatos did so and left the room.

Sentencing Lakatos Mr Recorder Patrick Palmer said: “You were to say that you had been hearing voices and that you wanted to kill [the victim] because of your anger at the time.

“It’s plain that these were serious offences.”

The court heard that Lakatos, 20, of Shipley, had five convictions for 14 offences including assault by beating of emergency workers, common assault, criminal damage, and arson.

He was assessed as being of substantial risk of causing serious harm to others.

Mitigating for Lakatos, who appeared via video link from HMP Doncaster, barrister Andrew Walker said he had experienced a “harrowing” childhood involving abuse, leading to complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which had “played a part” on the day in question.

He said Lakatos, who was 19 at the time of the incident, was himself a vulnerable person who suffered from nightmares and flashbacks, and who self-harmed.

He said: “As serious as the situation was Mr Lakatos did manage to regain some self-control, left the room, and called the police and told members of staff just what had been going on.”

Considering the sentence Recorder Palmer told Lakatos: “I have considered whether it would be right to suspend the sentence in your case, but it seems to me that the circumstances of this offence, the risks that you present, [and] the background to this offending [means] that the only appropriate punishment in this case can be achieved by an immediate sentence of custody.

“The sentence is two years imprisonment. One-half you serve in custody less any time you’ve done on remand. The other half you serve on licence out in the community.

“In due course you will be released. You know that you need considerable help when you are released into the community. You must make sure that you get it.”