The 55-year-old was also high on cocaine while driving without insurance, a court was told
A MAN had a kitchen knife and a hammer when police arrested him outside his Barry home, a court heard.
Paul Shields told officers who questioned him: “You never know what is going to happen in Barry.”
Shields, of Laugharne Court, was caught driving under the influence of drugs, driving without third-party insurance and while in possession of a kitchen knife and hammer outside his home at 3pm on April 21, 2024, Cardiff Magistrates Court heard.
Prosecutor Michael Curry told the court how Shields was found in possession of both the hammer and the knife.
Mr Curry told the court when Mr Shields was questioned about the offensive weapons, that is when he told police: “You never know what is going to happen in Barry.”
Shields told the court the kitchen knife was in the passenger seat of his car and that he had the hammer on him for “work” purposes.
Police drug tested Shields and he was found to have 240mg of Benzoylecgonine in his blood – nearly five times the legal limit, the prosecutor said. He was also found with 38mg of cocaine in his blood.
Presiding magistrate Fiona Tompkins heard from Mr Curry that Shields was a past drug user.
Presiding magistrate Fiona Tompkins offered Shields an on-duty solicitor in place of his own solicitor, who was not in the court room. But Shields refused, telling the court: “I’d rather not, I’d rather represent myself unless my solicitor is Mr Sadiq.”
Shields initially pleaded not guilty but later pleaded guilty to three offences when he appeared in Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 8.
He was charged with driving without third party insurance, driving a vehicle with a controlled drug above the specified limit as well as possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.
He was handed an interim driving disqualification. He will also have to co-operate with the probation service while he waits for his sentencing hearing on December 5, 2024, at Cardiff Magistrates Court.
