Man Tasered at Clive Hotel warned by judge

A man Tasered and arrested at the Clive Hotel in May has been convicted for possessing an offensive weapon and trespassing but will not be punished unless he reoffends in the next 12 months.

Bryan Arthur Cross, 47, was Tasered at the Clive Hotel on May 17 after entering the bar carrying a screwdriver, hammer and bayonet about 7pm.

Hours earlier he had been asked to leave the hotel by police and had complied, but returned with the items and his dog. He was asked to leave again, this time refusing. The occupants of the bar also noticed the weapons and encouraged him to leave.

When police arrived the second time, he refused to hand over the items and walked away. A Taser had to be used so the weapons could be seized. At the time he was too drunk to explain his actions.

In court, he claimed he had brought the items into the pub only to take down one of the pub's historic photographs, which featured Cross' grandfather. The hammer was intended to remove it from the wall, the screwdriver to unscrew it, and the bayonet to cut the photograph out.

At the Hastings District Court yesterday, he pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon (the bayonet) but charges relating to the hammer and screwdriver were dropped. He had previously pleaded guilty to trespassing and an order was made for the bayonet's destruction. Judge Tony Adeane noted Cross had remained out of trouble since the incident and was on medication, but warned if he got into more trouble his "options will be starting to run out".