Co Antrim man aged 81 is acquitted of knife posession and criminal damage
An 81-year-old man who had been accused of possessing a folding knife in a public area – Main Street in Kells – “without good reason or lawful authority”, and causing criminal damage to a van, has been acquitted of the charges.
James Hood, of Condiere Avenue in the village of Connor, denied the charges relating to January 31 this year and successfully contested the case at Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena.
Giving evidence to the court, the accused denied having a knife and denied using a knife to scrape a man's van.
The accused alleged he had in fact been assaulted on January 31 and said he had not reported it to police as he had received "rougher treatment on the rugby field".
Denying having a folding knife, the accused said: "I have never carried a knife in my whole 81-and-a half-years’ existence."
District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons said the case came down to "credibility".
She said there were "inconsistencies" in evidence given by two prosecution witnesses and acquitted the defendant of the two charges before the court.