An 18-year-old woman who already has 12 previous convictions for 67 offences has appeared before Bath magistrates to face further charges including threatening people with knives at a Keynsham care home.
Seven of the offences took place at St Francis Vicarage in Warwick Road, a supported living accommodation facility where Shelby Smyth had been receiving 24-hour care.
At her court appearance on Wednesday 11th March, Smyth pleaded guilty to three charges of unlawfully and intentionally threatening individuals with kitchen knives, causing immediate risk of serious physical harm. The offences all took place on 7th November 2025.
She also admitted two assaults by beating on 26th October 2025, with one of them being racially aggravated, and that on the same date she used threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress in a racially aggravated way.
In addition, Smyth admitted that on 13th October last year she caused criminal damage by destroying stair railings, a plate and a cup belonging to the care facility.
The eighth offence to which she pleaded guilty was an assault in Bristol on 3rd February 2026 on one of the people she’d threatened with knives at the vicarage last November.
Smyth, who is now living in Bishopston in Bristol, is currently the subject of three community orders, the court heard.
Her previous convictions, which were not read out in the courtroom, date back to 2024.
Magistrates committed Smyth to Bristol Crown Court for sentence on 8th April. They granted her unconditional bail.
The judge will be given an update on the pre-sentence report that was prepared on Smyth by the Probation Service last year.
