A drunken Selkirk man who brandished two knives in the street outside his home was jailed for a year at the town’s sheriff court on Monday.
Sheriff Peter Paterson told 20-year-old Jordan Inglis, of Bridge Street, that the court had made it abundantly clear the dangers of carrying a weapon, and he considered there was no alternative to custody. Sentence was backdated to July 29.
Inglis appeared on indictment and pleaded guilty to having two knives in Bridge Street on July 28. He also admitted brandishing the knives, challenging others to fight and committing a breach of the peace.
Prosecutor Tessa Bradley told how the accused and another man, who had been out socialising had a “disagreement” in a pub. When the man left at 1.20am to head home, he was confronted by Inglis in the road, holding two kitchen knives.
A passing motorist saw the two men facing each other and noticed something “glinting” in the accused’s hands. “He looked in his rear-view mirror and saw that he (Inglis) was holding a knife in each hand,” explained Ms Bradley.
The driver tried to persuade the other man to get into his car – and also attempted to get the accused to calm down – before contacting police.
Ms Bradley said both men were heavily under the influence of alcohol, adding: “The accused appeared in the street, having changed his clothes. He was searched, but nothing found.”
Ross Dow, defending, said the man had been following Inglis home when he went into his house and returned to the front gate, brandishing two knives. He conceded his client had been in the street, outside his home.
Describing the offences as “an act of bravado”, the solicitor added: “He says he would never have used the knives and entirely regrets this.”
Inglis also received a six-month jail term – to run concurrently – on a summary complaint after he admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at The Valley, Selkirk, on March 16.