Knife yob threatened to stab man at hostel

Judge warns thug he faces jail time following reports

A vengeful yob armed himself with a kitchen knife and threatened to stab a man at a Paisley hostel.

Raging Michael Campbell, 25, marched into the homeless accommodation in the town’s Argyle Street looking for a former sidekick, whom he claimed had assaulted him and robbed him of drugs.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard Campbell had bloodstains around his mouth when he approached the housing officer and demanded he be allowed in to see the unknown male.

Fiscal depute Keri Marshall said: “The locus for the offence is Argyle Street in Paisley. It is a tenement block of flats providing homeless accommodation over four floors.

“At around 4.45pm on July 12 the accused entered the office at the locus and spoke to a housing support officer.

“She noticed he had dried blood around his mouth. He appeared to be angry. He said he had been attacked by a male earlier in the afternoon and asked whether this man had been back at the locus.

“When the witness made further inquiries, the accused replied he was going to stab the male.

“At that point he made a number of stabbing motions while he was saying this.”

The court heard a short time later the housing officer observed Campbell pacing up and down outside.

The fiscal said the witness watched him remove something from near his ankle and place it at the waistband of his trousers.

Ms Marshall said: “At that point the witness contacted police to report it. The accused then tried to enter the locus but she did not allow him to return.

“Police arrived and found the accused on a footpath outside. He was detained. They found the knife in his waistband.

“He was arrested. He replied: “I am full of drugs and really stupid.”

The accused told cops he had “been knocked out,” and had “got up and chased him with a knife.”

Campbell, who has previous convictions for carrying knives, appeared from custody yesterday where he pleaded guilty to possession of a knife in a public place without a reasonable excuse or lawful authority.

His defence agent Linda Finlay said: “He has suffered from traumatic events in his childhood and throughout his adolescence.

“This has left him with concerns about his personal safety. It doesn’t condone what he has done but places it in context.”

She added Campbell had been befriended by a man in Paisley who later assaulted him and stole from him a quantity of drugs.

Sheriff Tom McCartney remanded Campbell in custody for the preparation of background reports and warned him he will be facing a jail sentence.

He also said it is certain he will be supervised in the community once he is released from prison for the protection of the public.

He said: “I am adjourning sentence for the purpose of obtaining a Criminal Justice Social Work Report. It is not because I am thinking there is an alternative to prison for this.

“It is to explore the post release supervision for when you are released from the prison sentence you will have served.”

He has suffered from traumatic events in his childhood and throughout his adolescence