Convicted robber caught with blade
A CONVICTED robber has been locked up after he was caught with a blade near a Metro station.
Jamie Graham was searched by police after Nexus staff at Northumberland Park, in West Allotment, reported seeing a man with a knife. A court heard that the 25-year-old was found to have a blade from a Stanley knife in his trouser pocket.
The crook, who was on licence from prison at the time, has now been put back behind bars after clocking up his second conviction for having a weapon in seven years. Graham, of Marshall Wallis Road, South Shields, pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article when he appeared at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
Prosecutor, Claire Irving, said police were alerted to a man possibly having a knife at Northumberland Park Metro Station, on Algernon Drive, on Monday, April 25, this year. Ms Irving added: “The defendant is seen and he matches the description the police have so he’s stopped. He’s searched. When told he was going to be searched he said: ‘They always say I pull a knife out on them. They hate me. I just have a dog lead’.
“A Stanley blade is then found in his right-hand trouser pocket. He has a similar offence from 2015.”
The court heard that Graham served a “substantial” prison sentence in 2016 after being convicted of robbery. His solicitor, David Forrester, said: “The weapon offence from 2015 related to a set of keys. I think the suggestion was they were used as some sort of weapon in an affray. Despite his record, he’s quite a highfunctioning young man. He’s in receipt of PIP because his doctor diagnosed him with autism or Asperger’s.”
Jailing Graham for 24 weeks, District Judge Kate Meek said: “The blade was in your pocket and it would normally be used with a handle but it doesn’t make it any less serious. In fact, it could be more dangerous. You were on licence at the time of the offence and some of your previous convictions involve violence.”