A teenager has been given a prison sentence for carrying weapons having armed himself for protection after his father and brother were convicted of a Carlisle murder.
The city’s crown court heard that Leon Ingledow had been in no trouble before his relatives, Paul Roberts and Jamie Lee Roberts, were arrested and remanded in custody following the killing of Lee McKnight in July, 2020.
Roberts senior and junior were later convicted by a jury of murder and, along with two other men and a mother and daughter, received life prison terms.
In the aftermath, as immature Ingledow battled major personal struggles, criminal associates “moved in” on him.
In December, 2021, he was sentenced for involvement in two Carlisle robberies which had occurred within an hour of each other on a city housing estate. During the second incident, Ingledow, then aged just 16, had brandished a blade in front of a terrified victim who was subjected to stab threats and left with a cut face.
Now 18, Ingledow received a youth rehabilitation order after a judge heard distressing details of a “torrid” period of family life.
He had since complied with the requirements of that order but found himself back in trouble on January 10, 2023, having received threats linked to the killing of Mr McKnight.
Police stopped Ingledow on Greystone Road, a residential area, and found him in possession of a knife, extendable baton and personal use amount of cannabis.
When brought to court he admitted possessing a bladed article, offensive weapon and controlled drug.
Carlisle Crown Court heard today of Ingledow’s significant learning difficulties, ongoing family issues and bitter murder fallout which had led him to believe, said his barrister, there was a “price on his head from those associated with the young man who was murdered”.
Mitigating the illegal weapon possession, Kim Whittlestone, defending, added: “He foolishly carried the items he was arrested with for his own protection. There is no suggestion he had utilised them.”
A probation officer had concluded that supervision of the teen following his imminent release from custody on licence would be the best way to protect the public going forward. Attempts would also be made to find him settled accommodation.
Recorder Peter Horgan imposed a 146-day jail term noting that Ingledow, of no fixed address, was subject to a mandatory minimum prison sentence for repeat weapon possession. The judge, referring to the murder aftermath, said to Ingledow: “As a result you had been the subject of threats yourself.”
