A newspaper delivery man was brought to court after he was spotted slipping a steak knife up his sleeve in his local pub.
Vuyolwethu Manentsa was described as “a bit of a lone wolf” before Ipswich Crown Court.
Now 46, Manentsa came to this country from South Africa in 2003 and works delivering newspapers for Morrisons, getting up at 3.30am each day to complete his rounds and working as a forklift driver for the remainder of the day.
On June 13, 2024, he was drinking at the Cricketers, run by JD Wetherspoon, which was described as his “local”.
Another person spotted Manentsa pick up a steak knife and put it up his sleeve. The person alerted the manager and CCTV footage was viewed. The manager called the police.
Manentsa, who denied the charge of being in possession of a knife in public but was found guilty at trial, admitted picking up the knife, which he said another patron had left on the table.
He denied putting it up his sleeve, although he was later seen with it on the stairs at the pub, Judge Samantha Leigh told the court.
When the police arrived, they found Manentsa in the pub garden, but the knife was no longer on his person. Judge Leigh said that in her view, Manentsa had “discarded” the knife when he saw the police draw up.
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However, she did say there was no suggestion that Manentsa had ever brandished the knife at anyone at the pub.
Manentsa, of Grove Lane, Ipswich, was sentenced to six months in prison, with Judge Leigh suspending this sentence for 18 months.
He will have to wear an alcohol monitoring tag for the next 120 days and complete up to 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days with the probation service.
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