Knife offender breached court order because his ankle tag caused him ‘injury’

A man has narrowly avoided jail after breaching a court order because of an injury caused by an ankle tag.Jozef Sura, 32, of De Grey Road in Gaywood, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.In February last year, he was sentenced for assaulting emergency workers and being drunk and disorderly in a public place. He was handed a 150-hour community order, which he has since breached.

Probation officer Lewis Spicer told the court that Sura failed to turn up to a number of sessions to complete his order.In mitigation, solicitor George Sorrell said Sura had an alcohol monitoring tag put onto his ankle last year. However, it caused him “grazing and injury”, so he was unable to attend the sessions.However, Mr Sorrell admitted: “It is his responsibility to keep in touch with probation.” The court heard of Sura’s original offences, which took place outside Tesco in Gaywood on January 12 last year, where he was shouting that he had a knife and was threatening to use it on people.Police were called at 8.45pm and on their arrival, Sura told them to “f**k off” and was shouting and swearing. Mr Spicer said officers could smell liquor on him and that he was unsteady on his feet.Sura was arrested a short while after – but he continued to be verbally abusive, saying to officers: “One on one, you’re f**king dead.”One officer sustained injuries to the right knee and a finger. It took six officers to restrain Sura. Alcohol has been a problem in Sura’s life, the court heard, but since the incident last year, he has not committed any other offences – and has “realised that drinking makes him act in a bad way”.Magistrates re-sentenced Sura for the offence, handing him eight weeks in custody – but suspended for 12 months.He was also ordered to pay £30 in court costs.