A Renfrewshire man has been jailed after being caught with an eight-inch baton outside a Paisley pub.
Dean Kerr was found with the “offensive weapon” in his inside jacket pocket on January 8 on Broomlands Street.
When cops searched the 32-year-old, he told them he had it for protection as “c***s were after him.”
Procurator fiscal depute Abigail McKenna told Paisley Sheriff Court: “Broomlands Street is a residential and commercial street in the west end of Paisley town centre.
“The offence was directly outside of the Tartan Rose pub, which had people within at the time.
“Around 3.10pm on Thursday, January 8, police had cause to search the accused. “Police discovered within the accused's left hand inside jacket pocket, an eight-inch wooden baton with handle and cord attached for better grip.
“The accused stated he had this for protection as ‘c***s were after him.’
“The accused was cautioned and arrested, taken to Greenock police station when he was held in custody to appear the next lawful day."
Defence agent Mark Johnstone told the town’s court that Kerr, who appeared in the dock from custody, has a “quite lengthy” list of previous convictions and that he was asking for a jail term.
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Mr Johnstone added: “He is seeking a custodial sentence. He is an individual who has suffered adverse childhood experiences.
“He had a turbulent and traumatic upbringing.
“As a result, he has significant addiction issues with alcohol and illicit substances, which took a grip on him since his early teens.
“He owed debt to certain individuals as a result of these addictions and what he said about people being after him is because he owed debt.
“Although he didn’t use the baton, he accepts that if circumstances had transpired he may have used it, but it wasn’t in his possession to be used on members of the public, it was for protection due to the debts he has accrued.
“All of his offending comes from his addiction issues.”
Sheriff Sheena Fraser stated: “You’ve a history of carrying various items.
“If you carry a weapon, there’s always a temptation to use it.
“I take into account you didn’t use it, and you’ve had a difficult background.”
Kerr was jailed for 18 months, backdated to February 9, when he was remanded.
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