Newport machete cyclist gets suspended prison sentence (From South Wales Argus)

Newport machete cyclist gets suspended prison sentence

11:30am Friday 16th November 2012 in News By Ruth Mansfield

A CYCLIST arrested after a machete he had Sellotaped to his bike fell off in front of police was given a suspended prison sentence yesterday.

Jed Merry, 41, of Williams Close, Pill, Newport, was sentenced to ten weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months at Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court after previously pleading guilty to unlawfully possessing the bladed article, which measured around 18 inches.

The Argus previously reported how Merry originally told police it was a bread knife but then said in a police interview that he had taken the item from his girlfriend’s house to cut his weeds.

Prosecuting, Rob Simkins said two police officers saw Merry riding down Stow Hill at “excessive” speed on a bicycle at around 11.20pm on September 29.

As Merry was riding, the officers heard something fall to the floor making a clanging noise and thought it was his bike chain.

Merry told them it was a bread knife but police sawit was a machete and arrested the defendant.

The court heard that at the time of the offence Merry, who has 18 previous convictions for 21 offences, was in breach of a six month conditional discharge imposed in June for being drunk and disorderly.

Representing Merry, Paul Philpott, previously told magistrates that Merry had been looking for some tools to cut the weeds and after going to his girlfriend’s house to pick up some mail, he saw the machete.

He said that usually being in possession of a machete for the purpose of cutting weeds is a good reason.

He said Merry was pleading guilty on the basis that because the machete was Sellotaped to the front of his bicycle leading to it falling off and because Merry was under the influence of alcohol at the time, he accepted he had no good reason for the possession.

Merry was also sentenced to a 12-month supervision requirement and ordered to pay £300 costs.