Update 7/3/2024 1:54 p.m. ET: Kotaku has been made aware that Anthony Bray is a convicted serial burglar who has previously served four years in prison for previous crimes, which better explains the seemingly harsh conviction.
Original story below:
A man in England has been sentenced to four months in prison after police found him walking around outside while brandishing a miniature replica of the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda. Arguing that it was an actual weapon, the police eventually detained Anthony Bray, who claims he bought the replica online as a fidget toy.
As first reported by Eurogamer, Bray was spotted by CCTV operators with something visibly in his hand on June 8. It turns out that Bray was holding his Master Sword fidget toy while walking around the center of Nuneaton, a town in England. Considering the fact that the blade on the toy measures at six inches, the officers believed he was openly walking around with a weapon, and eventually arrested Bray for carrying a “bladed article” when he approached them.
According to the reports, the too-long Master Sword fidget toy was in its sheath, though it could come off with the press of a button. Bray admitted that he could understand how his toy could be mistaken for a weapon, but also protested that he would’ve ever used it as such to no avail. Per the UK’s knife laws, you cannot carry a knife with a blade longer than three inches, so you can see why the police would’ve been concerned.
A sergeant of the investigations unit stated, “We take a zero tolerance to bladed articles in public, and Bray has fallen afoul of this. It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you.”
If you ask me, four months is a bit much. Not only will Bray be in prison for a third of a year, but he’s also being made to pay a fine for…walking around with a toy. I can absolutely recognize the threat of a six-inch blade, but at some point, it feels like intent, as well as the manufacturer’s responsibility, needs to be taken into account. If he’s a repeat offender with a history, I’d be more inclined to acquiesce, but he’s probably just a guy with anxiety who grew up liking The Legend of Zelda, and now he’s got a record. Though I’ve repeatedly insisted that gamers should pay for their crimes, this isn’t what I meant.
