A man caught in illegal possession of a knife told police that he was carrying the blade as he was living in fear of drug dealers.
Kevin McGeachy was stopped by officers as he was walking along Fraser Road in Aberdeen on Saturday February 3 and taken to Kittybrewster police station for questioning in relation to recent drug arrests the force had made.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard yesterday that McGeachy was searched and found to have a lock knife in his pocket.
He later admitted being in possession of the weapon “without reasonable excuse or lawful authority”.
The court heard that the accused, of Girdleness Road, had several similar previous convictions.
But his lawyer, Gail Goodfellow, said the 41-year-old’s record showed no “acts of violence” since 2011 and argued that the knife was intended only for protection.
She added: “He was receiving threats of violence from other men who had been arrested on drugs charges and found it difficult to cope with that.
“He had the knife in his pocket as he feared for his own safety, to ward off any potential attacker, but he should have known better.”
Sheriff Philip Mann jailed McGeachy for a year.
He told the accused: “I can understand why you thought it was necessary to carry a knife in your possession, but if it was used it could have caused significant injury or worse.”