A Larkhall youth caught with a knife in the street was freed this week after telling a sheriff he plans to change his ways.
Jay Gibb’s record includes a two-year sentence for attacking police officers with scissors.
He was only 16 when he lured them to his home by pretending in a phone call to be his mother and begging for help.
Two officers escaped with minor cuts and scratches when Gibb lunged at them on their arrival at the house.
Now 20, he appeared from custody via videolink at Hamilton Sheriff Court for his latest case.
He admitted unlawful possession of a kitchen knife in Albert Drive, Larkhall, on September 29 last year.
Jennifer Cunningham, prosecuting, said police officers had gone to his home in nearby West Clyde Street in relation to another matter.
They spotted him in the street and he was arrested.
He was searched and the knife was found in the waistband of his trousers.
Defence agent Jackson Bateman said Gibb has a difficult background but had been getting social work support before his arrest on the knife charge.
The solicitor added “He offered no resistance to the police and has been in custody since October.
“He is still a young man and I’m suggesting an electronic tag could be imposed as an alternative to more time in custody.”
Addressing the accused, Sheriff Douglas Brown said he had “concerns” about him complying with a tag and asked: “Will you comply with it?”
Gibb replied: “Definitely, man.
“I’ve realised during my time on remand that I have to change and I want to prove to you and other people that I can.”
Under a six-month tagging order, Gibb will be confined to his home between 7pm and 7am each day.
The sheriff warned: “If you breach it there will be a sentence of detention.”
