Zoth, R. v

Facts

The applicant, Mark Anthony Zoth, then aged 33, was sentenced in the Crown Court at Preston on 23 October 2020 by His Honour Judge Knowles QC to a total of 28 months' imprisonment. The first offence, committed on 18 January 2019, was having an article with a blade or point contrary to section 139(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988: the applicant took a taxi from his home in Blackburn to a public house, telling the driver during the journey that he had argued with someone there and was returning to stab him, and producing a large kitchen knife with an 8-inch blade. The driver pleaded with him not to use it and, once the applicant had left, telephoned the police, who found him and the knife at his home. He denied the account in interview, was sent for trial and pleaded not guilty on 5 December, being granted unconditional bail. On 23 December 2019, while on bail, he bit Michael Seddon on the cheek and punched him repeatedly after a drunken argument, and racially abused PC Ahmed on arrest and in the custody suite. He was sentenced to 16 months on a late plea for the bladed article, 9 months consecutive for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 3 months consecutive for the racially aggravated offence. The single judge refused leave to appeal against sentence and the application was renewed.