Eugene Wayne Bolton: Man sentenced for carrying 68cm sword around North Road Shopping Centre ‘for protection’

An Albany man who brought a 68 cm sword into a busy shopping centre has avoided prison after telling police he was high on meth and carrying the weapon for protection against his cousin. Eugene Wayne Bolton, 53, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with carrying a controlled weapon. Police prosecutor Warrick Walker told the court how police were called to North Road Supa IGA at about 6.50pm on May 16 after members of the public spotted Bolton acting suspiciously. Police found the 53-year-old in the North Road Shopping Centre toilets where he revealed a 68cm sword concealed in a scabbard under his clothes. When questioned, Bolton told police he had just taken methamphetamine and was carrying the sword as defence against his cousin with whom he was feuding. Bolton told the court that the rivalry had been going on since he was a child. “Why shouldn’t I have a bit of protection?” he said. Magistrate Erin O’Donnell said that while Bolton had not brandished the sword, she was concerned that he was carrying a weapon with a particular person in mind, citing Bolton’s prior ten armed offences. “My concern is not that you were going to go and attack this person but the fact that had something flared up with that person, you would have been willing to use it,” she said. “Things can get out of control very quickly with weapons like this.” Defence lawyer Raymond Muir said Bolton suffered from drug-related psychosis and had support workers to assist him daily. Bolton was sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment, suspended for ten months without conditions. National Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline: 1800 250 015