The actions of James Christopher Power (32) led to police firearms officers being deployed to a town street to arrest him.
Power pleaded guilty to affray and possession of an offensive weapon following the incident at 11.30 am on 14 January in the Parade.
In applying for the case to stay in the lower court, police legal adviser Susie Sharpe submitted that it was not the most serious affray to come before the court. She said that the events were captured on CCTV and showed that the affray was restricted to two men initially fighting before the defendant produced the knife from the back of his trousers and waved it around.
However, she said that the knife was only waved around and no injuries were inflicted on the other man involved.
The Magistrate’s Court heard that the incident started with an argument beside the HSBC cash point outside the General Hospital which escalated into a fist fight.
Describing the footage, she said that at some point the kitchen knife was seen being pulled from the back of Power’s trousers.
‘It is waved about. Both parties then run across the road to Parade Gardens, where a member of the public seeks to intervene, and they both make their escape running toward Helvetia School,’ she said.
Miss Sharpe added that although the affray would have caused fear to members of the public nearby, and that a father can be seen on the CCTV footage pulling his young daughter out of the way, it was a case that could be dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court.
Although the defendant had a significant number of drugs offences on his record, there was little in the way of a history of violence, she added.
Advocate Alison Brown, defending, said that the prosecution version of events was fair and she too agreed that the lower court had the power to deal with the matter.
However, she said that her client’s position was that initially the other man was carrying the knife.
She said that her client had taken it from him earlier and he only took it out as ‘he was coming off second best in a fist fight’.
Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu accepted jurisdiction and remanded Power in custody.
