Woman caught with seven-inch blade in off-licence claimed it was to self-harm

A Wearside woman who claimed she had a seven-inch knife in an off-licence to self-harm has avoided being jailed.
The case was heard at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court.The case was heard at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court.
The case was heard at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court.

Louise Vincent, 40, of Blumer Street, Fence Houses, Houghton, tossed the blade to the floor when she saw officers approaching.

But they spotted her movement and found it close to her on Saturday, May 30, a court heard.

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Vincent admitted possession of the blade but argued at an earlier hearing she had it only to cause herself injury.

But her claim was rejected by magistrates – and she has now been given a four-month jail term, suspended for a year, after returning to court for sentencing.

In doing so, magistrates in South Tyneside said the public and the Government expected the courts to act against offenders who carried knives.

Prosecutor Grace Taylor said: “Officers were called in the early hours. There was an incident involving a knife.

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“They attended and found the defendant at the Booze Busters, nearby to her address.

“On sighting the defendant, the officers noted that she threw something down onto the floor.

“They then see that it was a knife with a blade of about seven inches. They picked up the knife and detained the defendant. She said that she had the knife to self-harm.”

The court was told a Newton hearing, a court inquiry to determine conflicting evidence, had been held after Vincent entered a guilty plea in June.

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She had claimed she only had the blade in public due to a desire to self-harm, a defence rejected by magistrates.

Tom Morgan, defending, said: “The defendant is a vulnerable individual in her own way, regardless of her behaviour on this occasion.

“There is a learning disability and some issues with mental health. There was a 999 call.

“When questioned, she said that she was going to harm herself with it. There’s no proof that she would have self-harmed herself.

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“This is not an offence that needs to be punished by immediate custody.

“There are numerous other ways this can be punished for a vulnerable defendant.”

Vincent must also pay a £95 victim surcharge and £85 court costs, and magistrates ordered the knife be destroyed.

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