Suspended Sentence for Possession of a Knife

Case study summary

This client approached our firm after he was charged with possessing an offensive weapon and criminal damage.

He explained that he would plead guilty to the offence but was especially concerned about the risk of prison. We ensured that this concern did not become a reality.

Case study

Our client was a working man who had been charged with two offences after he confronted an individual who he suspected of having stolen from him. After his arrest, he was put in a police cell. The stress of being there caused him to act out of character and he threw a police phone into the cell's toilet.

Whilst doing this, he had a kitchen knife in his possession and had been drinking. This was reported to the police, who were also told that it appeared he was trying to break into the address, causing around £100 of damage to the front door.

We engaged with the prosecution evidence and analysed the offence our client was accused of. It was clear that, from the prosecution evidence, our client faced a serious risk of an immediate prison sentence.

Despite this, there were issues with the prosecution case. There was no evidence to show he had caused the damage to the front door because the complainant was refusing to provide formal statements.

We then contacted the prosecution and were able to persuade them to drop the charge relating to the criminal damage on the front door and reminded them that they lacked the necessary evidence.

We took detailed instructions from our client about his background, his work and the circumstances he faced at the time of the offending. From these instructions we prepared detailed mitigation and briefed an experienced barrister to represent our client during his sentencing.

At the hearing our client's case was put to the court and the magistrates were persuaded that there was no benefit to sending a working man to prison, despite the seriousness of the offence and the real danger of further harm having been committed.