Knife fan jailed after brandishing weapon in ice cream shop

THREATENING: Collector waved blade at staff member while shouting racial slurs

A Crocodile Dundee fan who collects movie replica weapons has been jailed after he pulled one of his collection on an ice cream shop worker because he refused to sell him a full bottle of bubblegum flavour syrup.

Adam Walker had only walked free from court hours earlier after being spotted carrying and sharpening a large knife in the middle of the street the previous day.

He walked out of Forfar Sheriff Court, went to an ice cream shop and placed an order without incident.

But two hours later he returned and demanded a shop assistant sell him an entire bottle of bubblegum syrup.

When he refused Walker went back to his flat and came down carrying a lock knife and waved it at the worker while shouting racial slurs.

His lawyer told a court that Walker was an action movie fan who had seen a knife similar to one he was seen carrying in the classic Paul Hogan film Crocodile Dundee and bought it for his collection.

A sheriff told Walker he had accumulated a horde of lethal weapons and added: “The lock knife could conceivably have been used for fishing – but he had it in an ice cream shop. Not a lot of fishing goes on in there.”

Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court that when this request was refused he began to shout and swear and told the man to “go back to Syria where he came from”.

Miss Robertson added: “A delivery driver then came in to the shop and the complainer asked for help to remove the accused from the shop.

“He left but then re-entered and began shouting again.

“He was erratic – laughing one minute then acting aggressively.

“He returned a short time later carrying a lock knife and had removed his shirt.

“He waved the knife around.

“He was seen on CCTV in the shop and the street outside carrying the knife.

“When he was detained he said he collected knives as a hobby.”

Describing the previous day’s incident that had led him to be in court, the prosecutor added: “A nine-year-old girl was playing when she saw the accused standing in the street with another man.

“He was holding a large knife and she ran home to tell her mother.

“He was seen holding the knife and using an object to sharpen it, causing sparks to come from it.

“It was approximately 10 inches long. He then placed it in a sheath.

“He then took out another knife and flicked it open and closed.

“A short time later he was found slumped in a close outside a flat with objects that had come from inside it.

“He was in possession of that large knife and the sheath and the other knife were found inside.”

Walker, 31, a prisoner at Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to charges of theft by housebreaking, possession of knives and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner on September 14 and 15.

Defence solicitor Nick Markowski said: “He advises me that these are movie replica knives that he collects as a hobby.

“One of them, for example, he had seen in Crocodile Dundee and had bought it online.

“The offence was committed by taking them into a public place.

“He didn’t buy them as weapons.” Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed Walker for 14 months.

He said: “It is disturbing that someone can buy as replicas of very nasty weapons like these.”

Adam Walker of Forfar claimed to collect movie replica knives as a hobby.