Corby criminal Peter Tierney found with knife in stolen car 'desperate for help'

Peter William Tierney, formerly of Corby, has been jailed for 21 weeks.

Tierney has committed 80 previous crimes and this was the second time he’s been found with a knife this year

A Corby man who has racked up a long list of previous offences has been given a chance to change by a judge.

Peter William Tierney, who has 33 previous convictions for 80 crimes ranging from receiving stolen goods to using threatening behaviour, appeared at Northampton Crown Court this afternoon (September 21) charged with three more offences.

The court heard how on August 3 a car he was driving was spotted by police and found to be stolen. Officers stopped the vehicle and found Tierney had a kitchen knife with him. He also did not have insurance or a licence.

Because he had only recently been released from prison for a previous knife-carrying offence committed in January, the 40-year-old was sentenced in the crown court as a ‘second striker’.

His barrister Liam Muir asked Recorder Jennifer Jones to impose the minimum sentence possible – six months, and to reduce it by 20 per cent to take account of Tierney’s guilty plea to allow him to take up a place at a rehab centre.

Mr Muir said: “He has a desperate want and need for help. He’s reaching out to get that help.”

Mr Muir told the court that Tierney had only taken the knife with him to use on a faulty fuel gauge, that he had borrowed the car from a friend and was not responsible for its theft.

Addressing the court, Tierney – who now lives in Great Yarmouth – said that he had a job in a call centre lined up on his release.

Sentencing him to 21 weeks, Recorder Jones said: “You have an awful lot of convictions but the attempt to rehabilitate yourself demonstrates why I will not go above the minimum sentence.

"You’ve been in and out of prison and I’d rather try and improve your life.”

Tierney was also given a further eight points on his driving licence.

On Christmas eve, 2020, a £1,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of Tierney after an alleged gunpoint robbery. The charges against him and another man were dropped after the victim declined to co-operate with the prosecution.