Man cleared of murder sentenced over death knife

A man cleared of murder has been sentenced for possessing the knife he used in the fatal incident in Plymouth last year.

Tahla Redwan was found not guilty of murdering 36-year-old Shane Sweet, from Plymouth, by a jury at Plymouth Crown Court on Tuesday.

Redwan, 20, admitted he stabbed Mr Sweet twice in the chest in the incident on Cambridge Road in November. The jury concluded that he had acted in self defence.

Redwan, of Hackney, London, was jailed at Plymouth Crown Court for 12 months after admitting possessing a bladed article in a public place, but the court was told he would be released from prison immediately as he had been in custody since the fatal attack.

Judge Robert Linford told the court: "I am not sentencing you for killing Shane Sweet, I am sentencing you for possessing the knife.

"He would not be dead if you had not had the knife."

He said Redwan became involved in the murky world of drug-dealing and people died just because of drugs.

He also said Redwan had no previous convictions and had fallen in with the wrong crowd in London and admitted dealing class A drugs in Plymouth.

Judge Linford told Redwan: "You will have to live with for the rest of your life that you took the life of another human being."

The court was told Mr Sweet, who was armed with a mallet, and his friend Ben Davies, who had a bottle of liquid with him, were involved in a confrontation with Redwan after they had contacted him to buy drugs.

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