A passenger has been fined after he was caught hiding a baseball bat down his trousers at a busy metro station.
Shawn-Lee Sutton was stopped and searched by officers in Byker after concerned members of public rang the police claiming to have spotted a man carrying a weapon. A court heard that a baseball bat was discovered down the leg of the 30-year-old's trousers and he was arrested.
Sutton, of Adelaide Court, in Gateshead, claimed in interview that the weapon was his and he had it for his own protection but his solicitor later told magistrates that he'd found it in the street and had intended to take it home. Sutton has now been fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a 348 victim surcharge after he pleaded possession of an offensive weapon.
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Claire Armstrong, prosecuting at Newcastle Magistrates' Court, said officers were on duty at around 8.30pm on November 14 when they got a call to say a passenger had been spotted with a baseball bat at Byker Metro Station. Miss Armstrong added: "The arrived at the scene and saw the defendant.
"They stopped and searched him and, during that search, they seized a black baseball bat, which was concealed down the leg of the defendant's trousers. The defendant was arrested and the bat was seized."
The court was told that, during interview, Sutton admitted the bat was his and said he had it for self-defence. Andy O'Hanlon, defending, said Sutton, who has 17 offences on his record, had cognitive issues. He added: "He finds the bat earlier that day and decided to take it home.
"He decided to continue out with it for a while before going home and had beer onboard. He's just short of having a reasonable excuse for having it."
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