A 32-year-old man has been jailed after threatening a group of men with a knife in a busy South Shields town centre while on licence for a previous knife offence.
Brandon Bushby, of Dunholm Road in Newcastle, appeared at Newcastle’s Moot Hall on Wednesday via video link from HMP Durham, where he was sentenced to 16 months in prison after admitting possession of a bladed article and driving without a licence or insurance.
The incident took place on King Street around 6pm on March 23. CCTV operators observed Bushby acting aggressively while holding a knife near a group of around seven men in the presence of children and members of the public. He then fled the scene in a Ford Fiesta.
Police later recovered the vehicle abandoned near Tyne Dock Metro and arrested Bushby days later in Newcastle.
The court heard that Bushby, who has 10 previous convictions for 18 offences, was on licence from a 13-month sentence handed down last year for brandishing a knife outside a pub in Ashington.
Kate Barnes, defending, said Bushby had received the knife from an associate and carried it out of fear of being attacked, referencing a previous assault he had suffered weeks earlier. She also noted that Bushby suffers from ADHD and intends to relocate after his release.
Judge Sarah Mallett described the incident as serious and noted Bushby’s repeat offending, ultimately handing down a 16-month custodial sentence.