Newark teenager who admitted possessing knife in public place after running from police sentenced at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court

A teenager found with a knife in public has been given a suspended sentence.

Lewis Neal, 19, of Stoke Avenue, Newark, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court today (Tuesday, April 15) for sentencing.

He had previously admitted possession of a blade over three inches in public without good reason, entering a guilty plea on the day his trial was due to start in February.

Neal was found with the knife on September 17, 2024, when he was 18, on Northern Road, Newark, at around 11pm.

He had been out with friends after work on their bikes when they had been approached by police, at which point he made to get away and was found hiding in a bush.

There a search was conducted and Neal was asked if there was anything sharp in his pockets, at which point he handed the knife over.

His defence solicitor, Mr Shamoan, previously explained to the court that Neal had been using the blade, a folding pocket knife, at his recycling plant job and had forgotten to take it out of his pocket at the end of the day.

He only remembered he still had the knife when the police officer asked, Mr Shamoan had told the court.

Neal has one previous offence of possession of a bladed article, which occurred in 2017, when he was a child.

Considering the sentence, the judge stated it carrying a knife “isn’t acceptable”, but found that Neal’s age at the time of the previous offence meant there were “exceptional circumstances” and that as he had stayed out of trouble in the eight years since, he did not need to be jailed as would usually be the case for two offences of this kind.

The judge added that Neal has a job and a permanent address, which would reduce his likelihood of reoffending, and that a prison sentence could undo this.

He was given a nine month custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, ordered to pay costs of £507, and to attend 15 appointments with probation services.

A curfew was not imposed as Neal had been on doorstep bail ahead of the sentencing.