Judge runs out of patience with repeat knife offender

Published on 03/08/2012 12:00

A THUG has been jailed after being caught carrying a knife for the third time.

James McRae appeared in the dock at Livingston Sheriff Court yesterday to be told by a judge that his luck had run out.

The 21-year-old, from Livingston, earlier pleaded guilty to carrying a knife in public on January 10. He was on bail at the time of the offence.

Michael Deacon, prosecuting, said a woman saw McCrae with two other teenagers in Bathgate, West Lothian. He said: “The accused was seen to produce a kitchen knife.”

Officers found the blade of the knife on a grass verge close to a primary school and the handle nearby after they arrested McRae.

Jailing McRae for a year, Sheriff Martin Edington said: “You’ve had a probation order on the first offence and you’re currently on a community payback order which you’re not complying with. You’ve been given enough opportunities to learn the error of your ways.”