A masked man caught lurking in the street at 1am with a knife claimed he was just popping out to a bakery.
Martin Robertson freely admitted he was carrying a blade when suspicious police officers approached him on Holland Street – and then fled on foot.
He could not offer an explanation for having the knife but, in court, he has now claimed he was on his way for a late-night snack.
The 31-year-old also sought to explain his face being covered by the fact that it was chilly out.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened at around 12.50am on November 29 last year.
‘When he spoke to the police he accepts he did panic and ran away’
She said: “Police were on mobile patrol when they noticed the accused standing at the locus.
“He was dressed in all black and was wearing a face covering.”
The officers stopped to engage with Robertson and he “voluntarily stated he was in possession of a knife”.
Before the constables could react he “made off” but was apprehended a short distance away.
A folding pocket knife with a locking three-inch blade was recovered from his breast pocket.
Ms Gunn told the court: “He could not provide a reasonable explanation for being in possession of it.”
Robertson, of Sandilands Drive, Aberdeen, pled guilty to possession of a knife in a public place.
Defence agent Marianne Milligan said: “He was on the way to his local bakery which sells food into the early hours of the morning.
“It was November so it was cold outside.
“When he spoke to the police he accepts he did panic and ran away.”
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told Robertson: “I note you were unable to provide an explanation for possession of the knife while you were in the street late at night.”
She ordered him to pay a fine of £210 and granted a Crown motion for forfeiture of the knife.
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