Man jailed after being caught with knife in crowded Hartlepool town centre pub

A man has been jailed after being caught carrying a knife by security staff in a crowded Hartlepool pub.
A bouncer at Ward Jackson pub in Hartlepool became suspicious whenJames Dunn, 36, who was carrying a rucksack, made several trips upstairs at the venue.A bouncer at Ward Jackson pub in Hartlepool became suspicious whenJames Dunn, 36, who was carrying a rucksack, made several trips upstairs at the venue.
A bouncer at Ward Jackson pub in Hartlepool became suspicious whenJames Dunn, 36, who was carrying a rucksack, made several trips upstairs at the venue.

A bouncer at Ward Jackson pub in Hartlepool became suspicious when James Dunn, 36, who was carrying a rucksack, made several trips upstairs at the venue.

The guard followed him and he saw him disappear into the toilets, and when Dunn emerged he spotted that he had a knife in a jacket pocket.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Prosecutor Harry Hadfield told Teesside Crown Court that Dunn was taken downstairs where he tried to run off.

Staff put him to the floor before telephoning the police and he was still being held there when officers arrived.

Dunn said when he was interviewed that he had not threatened anyone.

Mr Hadfield said that Dunn had 10 convictions for 12 offences including violence and for an incident in 2009 when he was waving a screwdriver around in a public place.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Andrew Turton, defending, said that Dunn had been homeless on March 7 and significantly addicted to amphetamine and cannabis, and the rucksack contained all his possessions.

He was using the knife to open tins to feed himself, and he was reaching into his pocket for his mobile phone when the security guard spotted it.

He said that Dunn had since rid himself of his drug addiction, and he had the possibility of a settled home in the Newcastle area and work in his trade as a bricklayer.

The judge said that he had been found inside a busy Hartlepool pub with a knife in his pocket, but he had not threatened anybody with it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Judge Howard Crowson told Dunn: ”Your problem arises from the fact that in the past you have had a bladed article offence.”

Dunn, of Orchard Way, Middlesbrough, was jailed for six months with a £115 surcharge after he pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place.

The judge ordered the destruction of the knife.