A Pembroke man was handed a 12-month suspended prison sentence in Magistrates’ Court this morning for carrying offensive weapons in public.

Troy Harris, 46, pleaded guilty to having a machete and a kitchen knife in his possession in the car park of Belvin’s Variety store in Pembroke on September 5.

The court heard that police officers attended a reported altercation between two men at about 6.30pm.

They identified Harris, who ran, was cornered and proceeded to throw both weapons over a wall.

According to prosecutor Larissa Burgess, the machete had an 18-inch blade and the kitchen knife had a five-inch steel blade.

Harris told the court that he had the machete and knife in his possession but did not use them to attack anyone.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo, however, said: “This is not the time to be seen with a knife or machete in public — not in this climate.”

He sentenced Harris to four months’ imprisonment on each count, to be suspended for 12 months.

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