Teen jailed for Dorchester minicab office knife threatA TEENAGER who threatened minicab office staff with a knife has been jailed.
Billy Lee Victor Purcell, 19, was jailed at Dorchester Crown Court in relation to the offence which occurred in the early hours of March 30.
The defendant had previously admitted charges of using threatening, abusive or insulting word or behaviour with the intention to cause fear and possession of a knife or bladed article.
Anita Gibson-Lee, prosec-uting, told the court how Purcell, of Linden Avenue, Weymouth, was shouting at staff in the office of Bob’s Cars in Trinity Street as he walked past at around 1am.
Simon Warren was working behind the desk at the time and a driver was also in the office with him.
Miss Gibson-Lee said Purcell entered the premises with what appeared to be a Stanley knife in his hand.
She said he approached Mr Warren, with the knife about a foot away from him, and said: ‘I will slash you, I will cut you’ before adding: ‘I could take you out quite easily’.
The defendant fled the scene after Mr Warren sent out a coded message to all drivers urging them to call the police.
He later returned with one of the drivers, who forced Purcell to apologise.
Purcell was arrested and when interviewed the next day said he had been drunk at the time of the incident and had no recollection of the events.
Miss Gibson-Lee said: “He did not remember having the knife and did not know why he was carrying one.”
She added that Mr Warren reported being calm at the time of the incident but the reality of it hit him later that night and left him in a state of shock.
In a statement he said: “The incident unnerved me.”
Tim Shorter, in mitigation for Purcell, said: “He has no idea why he behaved in that way and says he doesn’t use knives and wouldn’t use a knife.
“He can only put it down to being very drunk and behaving very stupidly.”
Judge Roger Jarvis sent-enced Purcell to six weeks in custody for threatening behav-iour and 24 weeks for the possession of a bladed article, with the sentences to be served concurrently.
He told Purcell: “I’m quite sure you really appreciate just how potentially very serious this could have been.”
THE owner of the minicab firm where staff were threatened has condemned the behaviour of Billy Purcell.
Bob Galloway said that staff working late at night should not have to put up with abusive behaviour from drunk members of the public.
He said: “I think it’s a bit sad that people can’t behave themselves, we have also had cars vandalised and other things.
“People really ought to behave themselves.”
Mr Galloway said that the incident at the office was relatively rare for Dorchester and said at the moment all the minicab firms in Dorchester did not have to put the same sort of security measures that they need in Weymouth, such as railings and clear screens.
He said he was hoping to be able to keep it that way.
source:
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/105018 ... at/?ref=nt
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