‘Two strike rule’ sees Haggerston teen jailed two days after being caught with killer Rambo knife
Jesse Langlais - Credit: police
A man who armed himself with a 10 inch killer “Rambo” hunting knife in a busy Dalston street has been handed an immediate jail term just two days after he was caught - because of the “two strike rule”.
The knife that was found on Jesse Langlais - Credit: police
Jesse Langlais, 19 of Pownall Road, Haggerston, pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and possession of two bags of cannabis at Thames Magistrates Court yesterday.
He had previously been convicted for carrying a knife, and was sentenced to five months detention in a young offenders institution.
A mandatory prison sentence for offenders caught twice with a knife was introduced in 2015.
Uniformed police officers were on patrol in Richmond Road, Dalston, on Wednesday afternoon when they spotted Langlais “acting suspiciously”.
He cycled off when he saw them.
But police pursued him to Broadway Market where they found the knife in a sheath on his hip, with its handle wrapped in cling film.
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When questioned about the knife, Langlais told police he had “found it”.
He was arrested at the scene, charged and remanded in custody on the same day.
Det Insp Paul Ridley from Hackney CID said: “This offence is particularly concerning, not only by the sheer size of the serrated blade, designed only to kill, but also fact that the handle is wrapped in cling film - clearly in a bid to attempt to prevent a link to him when used in criminality.
“Langlais failed to learn the consequences of carrying a knife previously and has now been jailed.”
He added: “We have witnessed the horrific consequences of knife crime and Langlais believed that he could continue to carry these deadly weapons in the middle of the afternoon on a residential street.”
Det Insp Ridley said the offence was “aggravated” – meaning it attracts a harsher penalty - because the defendant had previously been convicted of possessing an offensive weapon, the fact that it was in his waistband and easily accessible, and that he fled from police.
“Hackney Officers and the Metropolitan Police as a whole are working tirelessly to protect the community and clearly enforce the message that this will not be tolerated,” he added.
He urged anyone aware of anyone carrying a knife to report them to the police or anonymously via Crimestoppers.
“You will almost certainly save a life,” he said.
