A job-seeker who threatened a car wash boss with a knife after he was turned down for work has been jailed.

Alexandru Olteanu, 21, is guilty of drawing the bread knife on Arsen Gasturani, who ran the Hersden Car Wash, a jury ruled.

Olteanu, of Nicholas Road, Canterbury, denied using the weapon to threaten Mr Gasturani, instead arguing he brandished a selfie-stick in self-defence.

However the prosecution maintained he pulled the knife from his waistband and lunged at Mr Gasturani on the morning of February 21.

The jury found Olteanu guilty of threatening another with a bladed article, but cleared him of the greater charge of attempted wounding with intent.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article in public at a previous hearing.

The trial heard Olteanu approached Mr Gasturani outside the car wash, when words between them became terse.

Prosecutor Richard Jobb told the court: “Mr Gasturani was unable to offer him work because he didn’t have the necessary documentation.

“But Mr Olteanu began to pester Mr Gasturani who asked him to leave and attempted to walk away.

“Mr Olteanu reached into the waistband of his trousers and shouted at Mr Gasturani.

“He then approached him with the knife and tried to stab him.”

Canterbury Crown Court heard Mr Gasturani later called the police after spotting the suspect in nearby Sturry Road.

Patrols soon discovered Olteanu crouched behind a car about a meter from a kitchen knife concealed under a vehicle.

"Olteanu then approached him with the knife and tried to stab him..." prosecutor Richard Jobb

Ignatius Fessal, for Olteanu, argued he didn’t have a blade at the time of the row and had found the knife shortly before his arrest.

Mr Fessal said: “There was no knife, there was no attempted stabbing, Mr Gasturani didn’t call police [immediately] because there was no reason to call police.

“And whether the knife was there or not is absolutely crucial.

“If you conclude Mr Olteanu didn’t have a knife that morning, or may not have had a knife that morning, he is absolutely not guilty of count one or count two.”

But after jurors reached a guilty verdict, Judge Rupert Lowe last Friday jailed Olteanu for two years.

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