Teenager caught carrying deadly machete in Leeds city centre

Jimmy Maloney tried to conceal the weapon when police intervened an escalating stand-off between a group of males near to the Corn Exchange.

The 18-year-old was jailed for six months at Leeds Crown Court this week, because it was the third time he has been caught armed. As a youth, he was caught with a machete and then a kitchen knife. He was given a youth referral order, and later a youth rehabilitation order with intense supervision.

Judge Rodney Jameson KC conceded that “none of it had worked” and added: “I’m afraid it’s not possible to avoid an immediate custodial sentence. You were armed with this appalling weapon. Unhappily, it’s not the first time – it’s the third conviction for such an offence.

"Attempts by the court to modify your behaviour have not been successful. Nothing that has been tried so far has worked. It’s absolutely necessary to deter you and others to carry weapons in public. Assistance has been tried, and failed. You will be locked up for longer and longer periods if you carry weapons like this.”

Prosecutor Jessica Heggie told the court that police had been on patrol at 4am around the Corn Exchange area on February 19, last year. They spotted a group of males on Duncan Street arguing and a bystander kept telling the officers: “They’re going to fight.”

When the police shouted towards the males, they began running off, but Maloney tripped and fell. The officers shouted at him to stay on the ground but he got up and was seen trying to conceal the bladed weapon before throwing it away.

Maloney, of Osmondthorpe Lane, Osmondthorpe, later admitted possessing a bladed article in public. Along with his similar, previous convictions, he also has convictions for handling stolen goods and failing to stop for police.

His barrister, Rachel Webster told the court that he was a vulnerable teenager, and was going through the assessment to determine if he has ADHD. She said that alcohol was a problem in his life but was now abstaining, and had been dry for around six weeks.