A teenager has been sentenced after pleading guilty to robbing three youths at knifepoint in Mapperley.
He was also sentenced for carrying a knife following a shooting in St Ann’s.
The boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, and another offender followed three boys as they left a restaurant in Woodborough Road, Mapperley, on December 27, 2017.
They approached the boys, one of whom was asked what they had to give to them.
The offenders walked off empty-handed but a short time later they approached the same group of teenagers in Robinson Road and asked them ‘what have you got for us?’
After one of the group replied ‘nothing’ the defendant produced a machete from a bag and waved it towards them.
They searched the three victims who were told to empty their pockets. The offenders took a small quantity of cash from them before running off.
The defendant was arrested at home on February 22, 2018 after being identified from CCTV.
Nottingham Youth Court heard that the same defendant also pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place and possessing cannabis after being detained by armed officers in St Ann’s on 4 June 2018.
The officers, who had attended a shooting in St Anns Well Road, saw the boy running away from the scene as they searched the area. He was also seen hiding behind a wall.
After he was detained the boy told the officers that his friend had called him, saying he’d been shot, so he armed himself with a knife from home and went to the area to help his friend.
Officers found a knife, which the boy had discarded, in a sheath on the floor next to the wall.
When the boy was searched by officers they found four small bags of cannabis and he was further arrested.
He was sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders’ institute when he appeared in court yesterday (Wednesday 27 June 2018). He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation.
Speaking after his sentencing City Chief Inspector Donna Lawton, the Force’s knife crime lead, said: “We will always do all we can to ensure perpetrators of violent offences are placed before the courts and we always strive to ensure the best possible outcomes are reached.
“As a community we are stronger when we work together. We want to work together with parents, community groups, schools, health services, local councils and other agencies to make it clear that carrying a knife should never be seen as acceptable and our lives are better without them.
“There is no need to carry a knife in Nottinghamshire. Those who do choose to carry a knife will be at much greater risk of coming to harm, and may have the very knife that they were carrying used against them.
“Knives destroy more than just a life. The real impact of carrying a knife is felt by entire families and ultimately our communities.
“We constantly review how we can do the best we can to make Nottinghamshire even safer for you – and we know education plays a big part in that. For that reason we are reintroducing Schools and Early Intervention Officers into schools across Nottinghamshire to help educate youngsters about positive life choices, including steering clear of weapon-enabled violence.
“We also have a dedicated Knife Crime Team – the only dedicated Knife Crime Team outside of the Metropolitan Police – which is continuing to make Nottinghamshire safer by taking weapons off the streets of Nottingham.
“We all have a part to play in tackling and reducing knife crime. To be our most effective we also rely on public support.
“We would urge people to keep talking to us and give us any information they have about crimes that impact on them. The more information we have the better equipped we are to put the resources where they are most needed.”
For more information and advice visit https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/advice/knife-crime
