An 18-year-old from Prudhoe has been given a community order after admitting possession of cannabis vapes and a stun gun that he bought at a car boot sale. Liam Manuel, of Errington Place, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and possession of an electrical incapacitation device at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court in Bedlington.
Police chase and backpack discovery
Officers in Prudhoe were dealing with another matter on December 2 last year when they spotted Manuel starting to run away. The constables gave chase and detained him, noticing he had dumped a backpack he had been carrying earlier. They found the bag in a nearby garden and it contained a number of cannabis vapes, prosecutors said.
Prosecutor Clare Haswell told the court that the officers gained on Manuel and he stopped, saying he did not trust the police. When questioned about the backpack, the defendant said there was cannabis and "it looks bad what's in the bag". He said there were a lot of vapes, and officers found cannabis pens. Several boxes of vapes containing around 21g of THC liquid were discovered.
Stun gun found at home
A subsequent search of Manuel's home uncovered a stun gun, disguised as a pen, in a drawer in his bedroom. The court heard that Manuel, who has no previous convictions, was a youth at the time of the offences, had bought the stun gun at a car boot sale without realising what it was and had never used the weapon.
Manuel was given a 12-month community order with 50 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
