Killer caught with knife in nightclub
Assault trialset
Court reporter
A convicted killer has been jailed for two years after he was caught trying to take a kitchen knife into a packed East Kilbride nightclub.
Bernard Aitken (40) was found with a 3.5 inch blade stuffed inside his right sock as he tried to enter the busy Downtown in the town centre.
Security staff had been tipped off before Aitken arrived and when he tried to gain access they searched him and discovered the knife.
They immediately detained him before contacting police and he was arrested.
Aitken was put behind bars for six-and-a-half years after admitting stabbing his best pal Graham Murphy in 1998.
He was just 18 when Aitken plunged the blade into him on the Isle of Man.
Aitken was originally charged with murder but admitted a lesser charge of manslaughter.
At Hamilton Sheriff Court Aitken, of East Kilbride, admitted having a knife without reasonable excuse at the popular nightspot in July this year.
He has now been jailed by Sheriff Ray Small, who told him he would have put him behind bars for longer but for his early guilty plea.
Depute fiscal Michael Macintosh said: “It was around 1.15am when door staff at the nightclub were passed information of a suspicion that someone may have a blade of some description in their sock.
“On receipt of that the door staff proceeded to search the individual and during the course of that search in the right sock there was a knife, a fairly common kitchen knife with a blue handle and a blade of 3.5 inches.
“Door staff at that time detained the accused and police were contacted.”
Andy Thomson, defending, said: “He was released in March 2002 and it has been 14 and a half years since he was released and he has only had one road traffic matter since.
“He was married with two children but he has separated from his wife and still has contact with his children.
“As a result of this behaviour he lost his home and a 12-year employment which is no longer available because of the time already spent in custody on this matter, the equivalent of a sixmonth sentence.
“He has already paid a heavy price but he is far from a stupid man and when I first saw him in the cells he gave the exact description to me as what actually happened.
“He and his friend had been drinking that night to excess and his friend had a small knife on him which he was waving about.
“Mr Aitken took the knife off his friend and put it in his sock and carried on drinking.
“He should have disposed of it but didn’t. He says he acted responsibly by taking the knife from his friend but it is inexcusable to be in a public place with a knife. It can be a recipe for disaster on a night out having a knife, as he is all too aware.
“He had transformed his life but now finds himself back in custody. He has been extremely stupid and should really know better.”
Sheriff Small told Aitken: “You went to the nightclub and were intoxicated at the time and, while there are mitigating factors, the difficulty is your record.
“That incident also involved the use of a knife and that is worrying.
“There are community-based disposals open but no other disposal is appropriate other than a custodial sentence.
“I have the power to sentence you to four years on this charge but I don’t think that is necessary.
“It would have been 32 months but I will restrict that to 24 months, given the timing of your plea.”
In 2014 Aitken was fined £850 after causing £77,000 worth of damage to a home in St Leonards after ploughing into it while twice the drink drive limit.
The family who owned the house said he had got off with a slap on the wrist, adding he could have killed them as the car crashed through their living room window. Trial was set for a Calderwood man accused of assaulting a woman.
At Hamilton Sheriff Court last week Henry McGowan (64) of 19 Old Vic Court, denied pushing a woman on the body, causing her to slip and strike her head, on May 9 at his home. He also pled not guilty to shouting, swearing and acting in an aggressive manner.
Trial was set for December 29.