STUDENT IN KNIFE THREATS AT UNI CAMPUS
AUNIVERSITY student armed himself with a kitchen knife and threatened to stab people during a drunken confrontation on campus, a court has heard. When challenged by security staff Cain Sears boasted he was a bareknuckle fighter and “not afraid of anyone”.
Swansea Crown Court heard that the drunken episode has jeopardised the 19-year-old’s place at university and almost certainly ended his dream of becoming a UK Border Force officer.
Hannah George, prosecuting, told the court the incident happened on the campus of Aberystwyth University on the evening of Halloween last year.
She said witnesses saw an extremely intoxicated Sears outside one of the halls of residence shouting “loudly and provocatively” to passers-by: “Come on then!” The defendant then squared-up to a fellow student who was standing nearby having a cigarette and asked if he wanted to fight. The pair began pushing and shoving each other.
The court heard Sears disappeared into the accommodation block talking about getting “a shank” before reappearing moments later armed with a kitchen knife. The defendant approached a group of people, which included the person he had just been arguing with, shouting: “I’m going to stab you.”
Miss George said it appeared the knife was held behind Sears for most of the incident and was not brandished but it was seen by a number of witnesses.
Campus security was called and when officers arrived Sears told them: “I’m a a bare-knuckle fighter from Manchester. I’m not afraid of anyone.”
The court heard the security staff could see a bulge in the back of Sears’ trousers and believed he had the knife concealed there.
The defendant went back to his room and the police were called. Officers subsequently found a knife and a screwdriver in his bedroom. In his subsequent interview he admitted being involved in a confrontation with a fellow student but denied having a knife.
Cain Kevin Sears, of North Parade, Aberystwyth, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.
David Singh, for Sears, said the picking up of the knife may have been a “misguided attempt to get the upper hand” in the dispute with the other student. He said it was an incident which was completely out of character for his client and had no doubt been fuelled by alcohol.
The advocate said the teenager’s future at the university was yet to be decided and the incident would inevitably mean the loss of the job the defendant wanted after graduation with the Border Force.
Recorder Aidan Eardley told Sears his offending crossed the custody threshold but he said he was satisfied it was a one-off incident and given the defendant’s age and lack of previous convictions it was a sentence that need not be served immediately.
Giving Sears a 25% discount for his guilty plea the recorder sentenced him to six months in prison suspended for 18 months.