Knife thug jailed

May 20 2010 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

A THUG who claimed he took a foot long blade out on a busy Bathgate street for his own protection has been jailed.

Livingston Sheriff Court heard Kris Karran was caught with the steel carving knife after police officers were called to an incident in the town’s Elizabeth Drive.

Senior procurator fiscal depute John Barclay said the offence took place shortly after midnight on July 25 last year.

“A female witness told the police that she had reason to believe he was in possession of a knife,” Mr Barclay said. “The two officers approached the accused and informed him that he was being detained regarding the possession of a bladed article.

“He said he was happy to be searched but would prefer this to be done in his home and started to walk away from the police to his garden.

“On being told the search would be happening there and then he turned away from the police officers and tried to discard the knife which was concealed in his tracksuit bottoms.”

Karran was taken to Livingston Police Station and on being cautioned and charged he replied:

“I got stabbed in the stomach so I got a knife to protect myself .”

Karran, whose address was given as Cochrane Street, Bathgate, pled guilty to being in possession of the knife in a public place.

His solicitor, Darryl Lovie, told the court his client had previously been attacked with a knife and on the night in question had seen his attacker in the local area.

“My client, in his reply to the police, was not suggesting that he has just been stabbed but in fact that the individual who had previously stabbed him was in the immediate vicinity,” Mr Lovie said.

“It was with that in mind that my client very foolishly obtained a knife from his kitchen with a view of warding off the individual.

“This is a serious matter and as with any such offence the court’s primary thought will be one the imposition of a custodial sentence.

“What he is at pains to point out is that he is not an individual that is prone to carrying weapons.

“Some credibility in that can be found in his record as possession of an offensive weapon is conspicuous by its absence.

“He is a man who is beginning to recognise that his life is following the wrong path. I fully recognise that in the past community based disposals have been deployed with limited consequences.

“He has had a difficult childhood and dysfunctional background. Some sympathy may be offered to him that he was not offered the start in life that perhaps one should have.”

Jailing Karran for three months Sheriff Douglas Kinloch said: “Anyone who is found with a knife in the street faces the prospect of a prison sentence. You were not carrying the knife which makes it slightly less serious.

“You took the knife, I think, impulsively but you took it, according to your explanation, for protection. You have a bad record which includes convictions for disorder and assault and when knives are taken in these circumstances into the street, even when there is no intention at the start, there is always the chance they could end up being used and very serious injuries can be caused.

“You took the knife out in the street so in these circumstances you can not in my opinion avoid a prison sentence.”