Billingham man found with Star Trek Klingon sword

A SCI-FI knifeman caught with a “Star Trek sword” in a Teesside street is awaiting his fate.

David Hellen will learn later this month whether he will boldly go to prison or Klingon to his freedom.

He pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon - a “Star Trek bat’leth sword” - at Teesside Crown Court this week.

The 29-year-old admitted having the weapon in a public place, on Lennox Crescent, Billingham, on July 5.

Photographs of the weapon sparked bemusement in the courtroom.

Judge Peter Fox QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life before.”

The weapon was described on the charge sheet as a “multi-bladed sword”.

Prosecutor Sue Jacobs said: “I can’t think of another way to describe it.”

The judge said: “I share your difficulty in thinking of any other description.”

Rachel Dyson, defending, said: “I understand it was a Star Trek bat’leth sword।

The police were called to a report of a man with a sword in the street.

They arrived to find Hellen with the weapon.

The full facts of the case and the reason for Hellen having the weapon have not yet emerged in court.

Hellen, of Brendon Crescent, Billingham, wearing a shirt, waistcoat and tie in the dock, was bailed.

He will be given his sentence on October 27.

Judge Fox said he could not make it so soon after the guilty plea.

A pre-sentence report will be prepared by the Probation Service.

The judge told Hellen: “You must understand that my giving you bail is not an indication of your sentence.”

The official Star Trek website describes a bat’leth as “the traditional ‘sword of honour’ preferred by Klingon warriors adept at the martial arts”, like a two-ended scimitar.

The site states: “Due to the danger a real-life bat’leth presents, there is no official or licensed version of this weapon available.

“If you are interested in a smaller replica, you can find a bat’leth on the Klingon ‘Combat Sculpted’ nine-inch action figure।”
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