Man jailed the day after knife found in his bag in Stafford
Officers on patrol approached him after a report of anti-social behaviour
A man has been jailed the day after he was arrested following a report of anti-social behaviour in Stafford.
Staffordshire Police said 60-year-old Illya Priddy, of no fixed address, went into a public building on Riverside on Wednesday 14th October and started smoking.
The force said he was quickly approached by officers who were walking the beat at the time, and he admitted having a knife in his bag.
Police said he was also wanted for failing to surrender to court bail.
A lock-knife was found in his bag and Priddy was taken to custody.
Court appearance
Priddy appeared at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Thursday 15th October.
He admitted possession of a knife in a public place and failing to surrender to court bail.
Police said he had been found guilty at an earlier court hearing of threat to damage or destroy property, in relation to a separate matter.
He has now been jailed for more than five months.
Police response
Problem Solving Sergeant Chris Gifford said: "Officers were able to act rapidly on the concerns of local people while they were carrying out high-visibility patrols in the town centre this week."
He said: "This comes after the force was awarded £435,000 in additional funding to proactively tackle the main concerns of our communities, of which we know anti-social behaviour and knife crime ranks highly."
He added: "It's one of the many ways we are working to address key concerns directly across Staffordshire."