A homeless man has been jailed for carrying a knife in Workington, having told police after his arrest: “I was going to rob a shop or stab somebody in the throat.”
Police went looking for Carl Frank Weston, 37, after being alerted he was in possession of a knife in the town centre on July 12.
Just after 5pm, two officers located him standing outside a shop with hands in his pockets.
As one took hold of Weston’s left arm, his hand came away from his pocket and he was seen to be holding a kitchen knife.
He dropped the blade upon request and made no attempt to struggle against the officers, Carlisle Crown Court was told.
Weston was handcuffed and arrested, telling police he should also have been detained for robbery, and of his wish to return to prison.
And prosecutor Julian King revealed how in custody, Weston had said: “I was stood outside the shop with a knife in my pocket. I was going to rob it or stab someone in the throat.”
When asked by police if he considered himself to be dangerous, Weston replied: “At this moment in time I think I am a very, very dangerous person.”
Weston admitted illegally having a bladed article in public and was said to have almost 100 previous crimes to his name, including two similar crimes.
The court was told homeless Weston had described having “no life on the outside and having more of a life in prison”.
But jailing Weston, of no fixed address, for six months, Judge David Swinnerton told him: “If you are determined to get yourself locked up because you feel you can’t cope on the outside then please bear in mind that you frighten and risk hurting other people by carrying a knife around.
“You need to find a way that you can live in a suitable manner on the outside and not pose a risk to other people as you do with a knife.”
