The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A man fined for possessing three knives while drinking celebrating his birthday has told a court he was in the process of moving to a new address.
Police searched Gintaras Cariovas, 57, of Winsover Road because they’d received a call over a concern for his own safety following a separation with his wife of 36-years.
He admitted three charges of possessing a bladed article when he appeared before magistrates at Boston but said he’d been taking them to his new address and had stopped for drinks on the way.
Prosecuting, Marie Stace said that after being contacted by his family on October 28, the police found
him in Double Street drinking with the friends, but he told the officers that it was his birthday and although he had been upset that no one from his family wanted to celebrate with him, he had no intention of hurting himself.
She said that when they searched him they found three different knives in a bag in his rucksack – a Stanley knife, a bread knife and a carving knife.
She said he told the officers he had just moved his address and had gone back to his old address to get the knives, which he used for carpentry and gardening, and was taking them to his new address, but had met some friends as he went and stopped to have a birthday drink with them.
Mitigating, Phillipa Chatterton said Cariovas had just separated from his wife after 36 years and had returned to his former home to collect the knives and had hoped his wife might reconcile with him as it was his birthday.
She said that if he had gone straight home, that would have been a legal defence, but because he had stopped when he met some friends and had had a drink with them, he did not have that defence.
She said he had sent a message to his wife saying ‘Goodbye’ and she had feared from that he might be about to harm himself and had contacted the police.
Ms Chatterton said there was a happy ending in that they had now reconciled and said that in view of the circumstances, the offences did not in her view deserve anything more than a community penalty.
The magistrates agreed and told him that if he had gone straight home with the knives there would have been ‘no problem’, but he had stopped for a drink with friends.
Cariovas, who had no previous convictions, was fined £200 and ordered to pay a total of £165 in court costs and charges, but was warned that if the offence was repeated he would face an immediate custodial sentence.
