Driver was caught in city street with ‘decorative’ blade in the boot of their car

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More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice A motorist was caught in a Stirling street with a long “decorative” blade within the boot of his vehicle. John McAleese had admitted a charge of being in a public place with an article which had a blade or was sharply pointed in the city’s Glasgow Road on November 2, 2021. Stirling Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday this week that officers had searched the car – and McAleese – and found the blade wrapped in clothing within the boot.

The charge had originally described the item as a machete, but 36-year-old McAleese, of Sauchie, had pleaded guilty to an amended charge which described it as a ‘bladed article’. McAleese’s agent Virgil Crawford told Sheriff John MacRitchie that his client had an interest in metalwork. McAleese had been working on the unfinished item, which did not have a handle.

The lawyer accepted however that it contravened the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995. McAleese’s previous convictions – which included road traffic matters – Mr Crawford added, did not involve carrying weapons. He described the blade as “a decorative piece” which McAleese was in the process of making.

Sheriff MacRitchie said the offence of carrying such an item in public would attract a lengthy prison sentence. However, given the explanation given to the court he said he would deal with the matter with a Community Payback Order. He noted that McAleese had already served the equivalent of 54 days in jail and imposed 105 hours’ unpaid work to be completed within 12 months.

McAleese had further admitted, on a separate complaint, a charge of driving without due care and attention in Alloa’s Claremont Road on April 22, 2022, by driving at excessive speed and causing another road user to take evasive action to avoid a collision. Given McAleese’s “relatively limited record of offending” Sheriff MacRitchie fined him £400 and imposed six penalty points on his licence. Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks.

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