Teenager caught with Taser near Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth must pay £500

A TEENAGER caught with a Taser in a car park has been told to do 150 hours’ unpaid work.
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Owen Cahill, 19, of Winter Road, Southsea, admitted having the Taser on August 1 at the car park behind the Mountbatten Centre in Stamshaw.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard Cahill was talking to the driver of a car when police arrived and smelled a ‘strong smell of cannabis’.

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Peter Walsh, prosecuting, said they searched Cahill at 10.55pm who admitted having the device on him but said it did not work. No drugs were found on the teenager.

An aerial view of Portsmouth with the Mountbatten Centre in view. Picture: Portsmouth City CouncilAn aerial view of Portsmouth with the Mountbatten Centre in view. Picture: Portsmouth City Council
An aerial view of Portsmouth with the Mountbatten Centre in view. Picture: Portsmouth City Council
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Officers found a ‘battery pack’ with Taser and 10,000 volts written on it. When seized and later tested it proved to have a flat battery.

The court heard Cahill was a middleman for returning the device which had been left in a car.

Judge William Ashworth imposed a 12-month prison term suspended for two years with unpaid work.

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The judge said Cahill was ‘on the fringes of people who would have a Taser’ and warned him weapon sentences could start at five-year terms.

Cahill must pay £500 prosecution costs. The weapon was forfeited and will be destroyed.