A man who was in possession of a knife while asking customers on a Carlisle filling station forecourt for money has been jailed.
Ben Wiggins, 32, came to the attention of police at around 12.30am on July 29.
Staff alerted officers at the Esso garage on Currock Road that a male and female had been asking members of the public for cash, and acting suspiciously at the rear of the premises.
Police attended in an unmarked vehicle and got out to speak with the pair. It was at that stage, Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard, that Wiggins seemed to recognise that they were police and started to walk away.
Wiggins was seen to drop a six-inch long black-handled knife to the floor. That was recovered. His partner told of his mental health problems and that he had the knife in his possession to keep him safe as he was concerned people were “after him”.
Wiggins, of Montreal Street, Carlisle, admitted possession of a bladed article in public. He was said to have previous convictions for possession of an offensive weapon, in 2015, and a prohibited weapon, in 2017.
This meant his July crime triggered a minimum six-month jail term for repeat offending.
Jeff Smith, defending, said Wiggins was in a “difficult spiral” but that he had indicated a willingness to change and had a support mechanism to enable that change.
“It is now an opportunity for the court to support him rather than simply impose upon him a punitive sentence,” said Mr Smith.
But the district judge, John Temperley, said he was unable to conclude that the imposition of immediate custody was unjust, and jailed him for 22 weeks. “I am particularly concerned about the circumstances in which this offence were committed,” the district judge concluded.
