A prison officer who pleaded guilty to possessing two Samurai swords at his ex-girlfriend's home changed his plea to not guilty yesterday

Jonathan Chase Robinson was due to be sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to possessing the swords — one with a 16 inch blade and one 10.5 inches long — at the Camp Drive residence of Letitia Swan on October 17.

But defence lawyer Craig Attridge made an application to vacate the guilty plea made on October 18. He argued that his client had not had legal representation at the time, and may not have broken the law.

It is alleged that Robinson went to Ms Swan's Warwick home at approximately October 17 and left several messages on her phone — one of which made an apparent reference to the three year mandatory prison sentence for possession of a bladed article in a public place.

"I have three years. Three years of prison in my hand, right. Open up your door because if I have to come through I'm not going prison for nothing right. Open up your door," he told the victim, according to Crown Counsel Takiya Burgess.

Police were called and allegedly found Robinson "hunched down" outside, and the two Samurai swords near his motorcycle.

Mr. Attridge, who spoke with Robinson for the first time after his guilty plea, argued that the original pleas should be overturned for a variety of reasons. He said: "It is clear to me that Mr. Robinson at no point received any legal advice while he was in Police custody for two days.

"My instructions are that there is evidence this court will hear that suggests he had a good reason for having (the bladed articles) in his car when he attended the residence."

Lawyer Leo Mills, who was duty council at the original court appearance, wrote a letter confirming that he had not provided Robinson with any legal council. In the letter he noted that he tried to talk with the defendant but that Robinson appeared "distracted".

Mr. Attridge added that his client was on private property at the time of the alleged offence, not public property.

The bladed weapon law, which carries a mandatory three year prison sentence, is applicable only to people found guilty of possessing the weapon on public property without good reason.

Crown council Maria Sofianos agued against the application and said Magistrate Juan Wolffe should take into account the defendant's age and his profession.

Mr. Wolffe accepted the defence's application and Robinson plead not guilty to possessing bladed articles in a public place.

He set the trial down for January 22 and released Robinson on $2,000 bail and ordered him to stay away from the complainant