Smethwick man jailed for having cleaver, knife and hammer
A Smethwick man who was caught with a meat cleaver, kitchen knife and a hammer to scare youths who were abusing him has been jailed for six months.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar had taken the weapons out of his house on August 6 to intimidate a group of youths, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting, said that evening, police had received calls from a concerned resident that there was a man with a weapon near Montague Road.
When the police arrived Nijjar was speaking to a group of men. Officers searched him and found the meat cleaver, knife and hammer tucked inside the waistband of his trousers.
Miss Raj Punia, defending, told the court that Nijjar had just finished a 12-hour shift and was returning home when he was approached by three youths, one of whom he recognised.
She said: "They were bullying him and abusing him, and not being very pleasant, and that's why he went home and armed himself." Nijjar went home and took the weapons from his home, and had gone back outside to find the men, to scare them away.
The court heard it was unclear whether the men the police found him with were the same ones that abused him. Mr Searle said: "When asked, he said he was not sure what he would have done if he had found the youths."
Nijjar, aged 32, pleaded guilty to three counts of being in possession of an offensive weapon. Miss Punia said it was very out of character and he was aware it was a serious offence. She said he did not brandish the weapon.
Judge John Edwards told Nijjar: "I'm afraid the courts must take a strong line on carrying weapons. You had a veritable arsenal in your possession.
"You deliberately chose those weapons and then went back to the place where you had been intimidated."
Judge Edwards jailed Nijjar for six months.
