A MAN who threatened to slit the throat of a stranger on a Carlisle street in broad daylight while brandishing a sword has been jailed.
Scott Archer, 41, approached Jason Irvine on Abbey Street close to the city’s cathedral at around 3-30pm on February 17.
During an altercation, Archer told Mr Irvine “I’m the hardest man on the street” before vowing to get an axe. After heading inside his nearby home, Archer emerged with a Samurai-type sword which he took from a sheath before threatening the other man and holding it out of him in an aggressive manner.
Carlisle Crown Court heard this morning (WED) Archer had said “I’m going to slit your throat” to Mr Irvine, who rained blows into the midriff of the sword-carrier before people from a nearby cafe separated the pair.
“Police indicated that he was extremely frightened,” prosecutor Kate Hammond said of Mr Irvine. “He effectively thought he had to fight him to stop him hurting him.”
Archer, of Abbey Street, Carlisle, was arrested and accepted having the sword during an incident which was captured on CCTV. The court heard he had a previous conviction for unlawful possession of an axe dating back to 2007 and a lengthy history of violence.
Having admitted illegally possessing the sword on February 17 and also cannabis which was found on his person, Archer was jailed for eight months today.
Judge Nicholas Barker said: “You must understand, Scott Archer, that those who take highly dangerous implements such as a sword into a public place, and hold them in the way you did, create a significant risk of danger.”
