A judge has sentenced a teenager who was caught with a knife in Western Road, Brighton, when he was 13 years old.
The boy, who is now 17, cannot be identified by law, He was arrested close to the scene of a robbery to which the police had been called, the court was told.
He was one of several young people arrested as part of the police investigation of the robbery which happened nearly four years ago, on Saturday 2 July 2022.
One of the suspects, 17-year-old Mustafa Momand, has since been stabbed to death – in nearby Queen’s Road – over a drug debt. His killer, another teenager, Armin Mehdikhani-Sarvejahani, was jailed for life.
Yesterday (Wednesday 11 March), at Hove Crown Court, Judge Christine Henson said that the 13-year-old boy who was caught with a knife had been the subject of positive reports since then.
He had been in trouble just once and was making good progress under his youth justice worker Kay Squires, of the West Sussex County Council Youth Offending Team.
In a report to the court, she praised the progress made by the teen, who lives in Worthing.
And the boy’s barrister, Francesca Levett, urged the court to make a referral order for the knife offence, with a view to supporting him in staying out of trouble.
Miss Levett said that the boy had been to a barbecue on the seafront with friends and those present had tidied everything away when it ended.
The boy said that he picked up a knife that had been left behind. It was a small paring knife that he intended to take home.
In hindsight, Miss Levett said, the boy said that he should have put it in a bin but he accepted that he had the knife in public and pleaded guilty.
The court was told that the boy was taking a course in business studies and learning to drive with a view to becoming an estate agent.
Judge Henson warned the boy about the dangers of having a knife on him, given how many end up being used on the person carrying it in the first place.
She imposed an eight-month referral order and encouraged him to apply himself to his studies and continue his positive progress.
William Gatward, prosecuting, applied to the court for a forfeiture and destruction order in relation to the knife. The judge granted the application.
