A man caught with two blades in a forest claimed he only had the weapons to ’carve wood’.
Gary Newman made the claim during a trial at Campbeltown Sheriff Court but it fell on deaf ears as he was
found guilty.
Sheriff Euan Cameron this week told the court in Campbeltown that the carrying of knives will not be tolerated as he sentenced the 61-year-old to 160 days behind bars.
Newman, of Queen Street in Campbeltown, was convicted at the New Year sitting of the court after denying he had two knives with him in a public place without a reasonable excuse or lawful authority.
The incident happened on Kilkerran Road in the town on August 7 last year. At the time, Newman was on two bail orders, granted on December 28 2022 and July 18 2023.
Newman told the court he had the blades as he was going into the woods behind Kilkerran Road, via the The Cutting, the trackbed of the old railway to Machrihanish to find young trees to work on.
He told his trial: “I was looking for saplings to cut down to then start carving."
Sheriff Cameron had called for reports on Newman before he passed sentence. The 160 days were backdated to January 3 when the accused was first remanded in custody.
His defence agent Kevin McGuinness said the report on his client carried out by social work was a lengthy one but that it provided a great deal of background information addressing Newman’s mental health issues.
He added: “Mr Newman’s coping strategy was to resort to alcohol and illicit substances which increased his risk of offending; a cluster of offences coincides with the break up of his marriage.
"During his time in custody on remand, Mr Newman has detoxed, been able to think clearly and has been able to reflect on his situation."
Imposing a prison sentence on the 61-year-old, Sheriff Cameron said he had a duty to protect the community.
He added: "I hope by sending you to jail that I am also sending out a strong message, one that the carrying of knives in this area will not be tolerated."
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.