Exclusive:Southsea man who wielded knife in Portsmouth city centre avoids being sent to prison
He won’t be sent to prison unless he commits another offence, the court was told.
A man who was carrying both drugs and a knife around Portsmouth city centre has been spared prison.
Krystian Rogosz, 24 from Yorke Street, Southsea, was arrested on December 12 last year, on suspicion of possessing a bladed article in a public place, and possessing a controlled Class B drug, namely cannabis. It came after police received reports of someone carrying a knife through Spring Gardens.
When police picked him up, they also found a small bag of cannabis on his person.
The court heard how Rogosz had been carrying a lock knife, which is a form of folding pocket knife with a mechanism that clicks the blade into place.
Appearing at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, September 24, the defendant indicated guilty pleas to two counts of possessing a blade, and one count of possessing a controlled Class B drug.
While the court ordered the destruction of both the knife and the drugs, lead magistrate Benjamin Holden stopped short of sending Rogosz to prison.
Instead, he was given a sentence of four months in custody, suspended for one year. He was instructed to comply with 15 rehabilitation days, and 60 hours of unpaid work. Rogosz must also pay costs of £85, and a surcharge of £154.