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A teenager who followed a stranger into a dark alley in Douglas before pulling a gun on him has been jailed.

 

19-year-old Jack Mckernan was sentenced at the Court of General Gaol Delivery earlier this week after previously admitting a charge of affray. 

 

The Douglas man approached his victim near Christian Road as the man was walking at 1.30am on June 7th - Mckernan asked him for a lighter before brandishing the unloaded BB gun. 

 

In an attempt to defuse the situation the victim told Mckernan he was a policeman who'd just finished work - he fled and was arrested by police a short time later. 

 

In his basis of plea Mckernan accepted his actions were threatening but said he'd never intended to harm his victim saying it was a "spur of the moment drunken prank".

 

His advocate told the court it was a "most unpleasant and unprovoked incident" admitting his social enquiry report made for "grim reading" but urging Deemster Montgomerie not to "write him off".

 

Sentencing Mckernan the Deemster said he could "only imagine" the fear caused to the victim but added "you've got your whole life ahead of you - I'm not writing you off at 19".

 

Sending him to prison for eight months he told Mckernan change had to come from him adding "you've really got to start engaging with your drink problem". 

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