Nwicker60
18-Apr-13, 13:43
Threw away blade when challenged by police court told
A THURSO teenager, who was caught with a meat cleaver in his possession in a local street, claimed that he had been using it for cooking purposes.
But police witnesses said they had seen unemployed Thomas Jones with the blade tucked in the rear waistband of his trousers and observed him trying to dispose of it.
Jones, of 19 St Andrew's Drive, Thurso, denied possession of the meat cleaver in public but was found guilty after a trial at Wick Sheriff Court, yesterday. He was ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community service.
Police officers Andrew Wymer and James Swan told how they had stopped their patrol van in St Andrew's Drive, in the early hours of January 12 to speak to a group of people.
They said the observed one of them, Jones, walking away towards his house and noticed the handle of a blade protruding from his rear waistband.
Constable Wymer got out of the van and shouted to Jones to stop, but the accused kept on running and dropped the cleaver onto the grassy area in front of his home.
The officer told the court that he saw one of the group picked it up and followed her into the accused's home where she handed it over to him in the kitchen.
Jones said in evidence that he had been preparing kebabs there using the meat cleaver. He learned that one of his friends had been injured in an accident and rushed out of the house, tucked the knife into his waistband and panicked when he saw the police van and threw the blade away.
He denied a suggestion by David Barclay prosecuting that the amount of drink he had consumed earlier, had affected his memory and replied he remembered certain things.
As stated, Sheriff Andrew Berry found Jones guilty. The meat cleaver was forfeited.
A THURSO teenager, who was caught with a meat cleaver in his possession in a local street, claimed that he had been using it for cooking purposes.
But police witnesses said they had seen unemployed Thomas Jones with the blade tucked in the rear waistband of his trousers and observed him trying to dispose of it.
Jones, of 19 St Andrew's Drive, Thurso, denied possession of the meat cleaver in public but was found guilty after a trial at Wick Sheriff Court, yesterday. He was ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community service.
Police officers Andrew Wymer and James Swan told how they had stopped their patrol van in St Andrew's Drive, in the early hours of January 12 to speak to a group of people.
They said the observed one of them, Jones, walking away towards his house and noticed the handle of a blade protruding from his rear waistband.
Constable Wymer got out of the van and shouted to Jones to stop, but the accused kept on running and dropped the cleaver onto the grassy area in front of his home.
The officer told the court that he saw one of the group picked it up and followed her into the accused's home where she handed it over to him in the kitchen.
Jones said in evidence that he had been preparing kebabs there using the meat cleaver. He learned that one of his friends had been injured in an accident and rushed out of the house, tucked the knife into his waistband and panicked when he saw the police van and threw the blade away.
He denied a suggestion by David Barclay prosecuting that the amount of drink he had consumed earlier, had affected his memory and replied he remembered certain things.
As stated, Sheriff Andrew Berry found Jones guilty. The meat cleaver was forfeited.