Teen jailed for chasing man through Sunderland city centre with metal pole

Regan King, 19, shouted, “**** the system” after being told he was being put behind bars for 23 weeks by magistrates in South Tyneside.

King, of Renfrew Road, Red House, was told that his disregard for previous court orders meant imprisonment was inevitable.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson revealed King was seen on CCTV chasing a man in Vine Place on Friday, September 2.

Mr Anderson said: “What is said to have happened is that the defendant is seen on city centre cameras with some sort of metal pipe.

“It’s 18in long and CCTV shows him chasing after a male with this metal pole. He then ran off. He makes off but is arrested.

“He makes no reply in interview but suggests that he may have picked it up when someone else dropped it.”

King pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon on a public place on the day of his trial on Tuesday, November 29, having first claimed innocence.

Richard Copsey, defending, confirmed King had refused to speak to the Probation Service during the intervening weeks to help them compile a pre-sentence report.

He said: “I’ve told him the court could send him to prison, but he says that he doesn’t care.”

Of King’s offence, Mr Copsey added: “He also says that he was drunk and can’t remember anything about it. The CCTV was inconclusive.

“He’s not heavily convicted whatsoever. By his own admission, he’s taken drugs. He says he’s been taking crack cocaine over the past few weeks.

“It was not a knife, but it is aggravated by the fact that he was under the influence. He’s no idea where the pole came from.

“He is here with his mum and his sister who have offered him support in the past. He’s still very much a young man.

“The court may say that he’s had his chance and it’s jail. It could be a suspended sentence, it’s not a foregone conclusion.”

Magistrates also ordered King to pay £620 court costs and a £154 victim surcharge and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the pole.