A man found in possession of an offensive weapon for the sixth time has been jailed for more than a year.
Ryan Hunter, 39, a prisoner at Perth, was told by a sheriff that given his record of offending, which included assaults and violence as well as five previous incidents of carrying weapons, there was no alternative to a prison sentence.
Hunter was found with a utility knife in his rear pocket by police after it was thrown to him from a top-floor window of a block of flats in Lochee by a friend, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.
Fiscal depute Nicola Gillespie told the court that police had received an anonymous tip-off that a man was in possession of a knife on Kirk Street and several units were immediately dispatched to the scene.
“When officers arrived on Kirk Street, a male answering the description they had was traced and spoken to,” said Ms Gillespie.
“Following a search, the officers found a utility-type knife in the back right-hand pocket of his trousers.”
The fiscal depute said Hunter was arrested and cautioned but made no reply at the time.
However, when questioned later, he told police he had been thrown the object from a window on the top floor as he was supposed to be doing some DIY.
The court was told Hunter and a friend had argued and, as a result, the knife was thrown down to him from the window.
Solicitor Paul Parker Smith told the court the knife was intended for cutting wallpaper at Hunter’s girlfriend’s flat which had been damaged by fire.
“He accepts he should have been more careful,” said Mr Parker Smith.
“There was a fire at his girlfriend’s flat and he was intending to decorate it.
“But, from previous experience, he knows he should not have had it.
“Owing to his record, he’s not expecting anything other than a custodial sentence.”
Hunter admitted possessing the knife on April 27.
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael told Hunter his starting position was 25 months in jail.
However, owing to the early plea, he reduced it to 14 months and also backdated the sentence to April 27 as Hunter had been in custody since then.
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