Danny Kent given suspended jail sentence for carrying knife

2015 Moto3 World Champion Danny Kent pleads guilty to carrying a knife in a public place; Handed four month jail sentence suspended for 12 months

Danny Kent - Moto2

Moto3 World Champion Danny Kent has received a suspended jail sentence of four months for carrying a knife during a ‘scuffle’ that also involved his brother.

Pleading guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates Court for possessing a knife in a public place, 25-year-old Kent admitted having a kitchen knife in the West Street car park in Tetbury, Gloucestershire on March 7, whereby he was involved in an altercation with a 63-year-old man. 

Prosecutor Peter Ashby said the 63-year-old man had been walking his dog when he heard a ‘commotion’ in a nearby block of flats before two men ran past him 

 "One of the men, the defendant's brother, confronted the 63-year-old and there was a scuffle and the older man took the young man to the ground,” the BBC reports

"He pinned him down and then the other man, the defendant, came over and pushed the older man off.

"The witness then saw a knife on the ground. He picked it up and went home and then informed the police."

Kent told officers he and his brother were collecting a debt and that he’d have not used the 6-inch blade knife in anger. 

"My client came across his brother on the floor with the older man pinning him down so he thought his brother was a victim of an assault and pushed him off,” representing the defence, Howard Ogden said.

As well as the sentence – which is suspended for 12 months – Kent was ordered to pay £115 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

First British GP World Champion since 1977

Danny Kent clinched the Moto3 world title in 2015 with six wins to his name becoming Britain's first GP World Champion since Barry Sheene in 1977.

However, Kent has struggled to make an impression since then, his promotion to Moto2 yielding modest results until he exited the series mid-way through the 2018 season. 

More recently, Kent made his British Superbike Championship debut only last month riding a MV Agusta F4 under the Bike Devil Sweda team banner. He could be back on the bike on Friday 16th as BSB 2019 continues with round eight at Cadwell Park.