Thug was armed with three knives

Aug 15 2008 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Thug was armed with three knives

A PERTH man discovered carrying a “veritable arsenal” of weapons as he roamed the city centre was jailed for five months at the Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Twenty-seven-year-old Alan Lunn, of George Street, had ditched a black-handled kitchen knife, with a seven-inch long blade, before he was stopped by police.

When he was searched officers recovered a similar knife from his pocket.

Lunn was then taken to police headquarters where a third weapon, a lock knife with a three-and-a-half-inch long blade, was retrieved from the waistband of his trousers.

Lunn pled guilty to having the three blades in his possession in Flesher’s Vennel, South St John’s Place and Canal Street on April 11.

Depute fiscal Lucy Keane said door staff at the Bar Retreat in Flesher’s Vennel saw the accused at 11.15.

They became concerned when he put his hand in his pocket and took out what appeared to be a knife.

“The police were called and a description of the accused was given,” she added. “They found a large, black-handled kitchen knife lying on the ground.”

When the accused was traced shortly afterwards, the two other weapons were found.

Solicitor Paul Ralph told the court: “The only surprise is that he didn’t injure himself carrying these knives in his waistband. I suspect there’s more to this than meets the eye.”

The accused had spent three weeks in custody and Mr Ralph asked the Sheriff to refrain from sending his client to prison.

But Sheriff Fletcher told Lunn: “This is a very serious matter. You had not just one knife but a total of three knives in your possession.

“This was a veritable arsenal. No explanation has been given why this came about.

“You could have caused untold havoc. I don’t think I can deal with this in any other way than by a custodial sentence.”

But he backdated the jail term to July 23, when Dunn was remanded.

l Lunn’s jail sentence was in stark contrast to the £400 fine handed out last week to Perth man Shaun Cairney (24), of Main Street, Bridgend.

He had armed himself with three large kitchen knives before out for a night on the town.

The fine was imposed by visiting Sheriff Peter Hammond. The maximum penalty would have been £10,000 or 12 months in jail.