Woman who fell asleep in street next to knives had them for 'self defence'
A woman who fell asleep in the street next to two knives after stealing from a parked car has been jailed. Linzi O'Rourke had been in Netherhall Road, Leicester, on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 2, when Leicestershire Police officers spoke to her.
They had been called by a resident who had spotted someone trying to open the doors of parked cars. After speaking to the officers, O'Rourke, 39, lay down on the grass by the road and fell asleep.
The officers then noticed a folding knife near to her - a review of their body-worn camera footage later showed she had thrown it away as the officers approached her. They also searched a carrier bag she had and inside they found various items stolen from a parked car and a Stanley knife.
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O'Rourke, of Ickworth Close, Humberstone, Leicester, appeared a Leicester Crown Court on Thursday (September 5) to face sentencing on two charges of possessing a knife in public, which she had pleaded guilty to. There were no charges for stealing from the car because the vehicle owner did not want to make a statement, the court heard.
Prosecutor Jonathan Dunne described what happened just before her arrest. He said: "What happened was that at some point Miss O'Rourke went to sleep on the grass.
"The police continued with their enquiries and noticed she had discarded the item. They searched the carrier bag she had and it contained items she had stolen from a car and they also found an orange Stanley knife-type article."
The court heard that O'Rourke had more than 42 previous offences on her record, including a recent conviction for having a knife in public in October 2023, for which she had been given a community order. She had failed to comply with that order and during the sentencing hearing she also admitted breaching that order.
Mr Dunne said that because O'Rourke had not been engaging with them, the probation service had no recommendations - no alternatives to immediate prison - to offer the judge.
The court heard that her other previous offences included common assault, battery, using threatening behaviour and numerous thefts from shops, as well as convictions for failing to stick to court orders.
Adam Pearson, representing O'Rourke, said his client had been a crack cocaine and heroin addict but now claimed she had been free of Class A drugs for eight months, which was a "significant improvement". He said she had the knives for self-defence and that she had not used or threatened to use them against anyone.
He said: "She was in an abusive relationship with a man such that she was scared for her life and that's the reason she had the knives upon her. He was not only mistreating her but encouraging others to do so, also. She was in a desperate situation."
O'Rourke wept in the dock as Mr Pearson told the judge: "Prison is no place for her. It's not going to help and it's only going to exacerbate the difficulties she has."
He said his client was on a variety of medications for anxiety, depression and bi-polar disorder and that she could be dealt with using a suspended sentence order.
However, Judge William Harbage KC disagreed. He said: "I cannot say there is a realistic probability of rehabilitation when there's no engagement with probation."
He jailed her for nine months. She will serve the first half of the term behind bars.