Justin Crimp – previously convicted of manslaughter – admitted violent disorder and criminal damage after store CCTV and police Body Worn Video footage was shown to him

A man who smashed the glass door of a city centre store – causing between £5,000 and £10,000 damage – following the Plymouth disorder on Monday has been jailed.

Justin Crimp, of Palace Street, Plymouth appeared at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to violent disorder and criminal damage on August 5.

Appearing in custody at Plymouth Crown Court this afternoon Crimp, aged 49, listened in the dock as prosecutor Holly Rust summarised the outbreak of protests across the country following the killing of three girls in Southport. She explained how two groups of protesters were on either side of the Royal Parade, describing them as the “far right group” on one side and “the counter protest” on the other.

She said Crimp was “on the very front line of the far right side just across from the Guildhall” and was seen on footage attempting to cross the police line which separated the two groups.

She said he was seen stepping into traffic and was repeatedly stopped and pushed back to the group on the north side. She said during these incidents he pointed “aggressively”, saying “don’t f***ing touch me” and would square up to them.

She said he was seen to jog on the spot as though attempting to charge the officers and towards the counter-protestors. He was seen cheering when objects – including a flare – were thrown at the counter-protesters and heard shouting “Green Army”.

Ms Rust said Crimp was able to break through police lines “on several occasions” and they had to grab him to push him back to his side.

Police BodyWornVideo (BWV) footage was shown in court highlighting the behaviour of Crimp during the protests. In addition the court was shown CCTV from inside the TK Maxx store on Royal Parade which showed Crimp hurling a brick at the glass front door. It bounced off and he picked it up again, throwing it a second time, whereupon it shattered.

The court was told that store staff recognised Crimp, having dealt with him for shoplifting as recently as August 1 this year. Ms Rust said the estimated cost of replacing the shattered door was “between £5,000 and £10,000”.

Crimp was arrested at his home on August 7 and claimed during a police interview that the reason he was trying to cross the road was because “he left his trainers on the other side of the road and was trying to get back to them”.

He then answered “no comment” to further questions and left the interview room. Police attempted to interview him in his cell at Charles Cross police station, but he ignored them and covered himself with a blanket.

Ms Rust read out a statement from a senior manager at South Western Ambulance Service Trust who explained how a large number of additional resources had to be deployed ahead of the protest and during it, which resulted in significant costs “well into the thousands of pounds”.

The Trust manager explained that it was already at “resources escalation action plan red” which meant it was already under severe pressure – currently the second highest level it could be at – and the protests caused even more pressure upon it, resulting in a “significant impact” on its ability to serve the wider public.

Ms Rust said Crimp had 22 convictions for 53 offences, including public order, affray, violence and in April this year twice breached a Domestic Violence Prevention Order resulting in a prison sentence of 28 days. He was also convicted of possession of a blade in public in 2021.

In mitigation his advocate Michael Green said his client had suffered from PTSD from the 1990s and has since been diagnosed with COPD and long standing epilepsy.

He said Crimp had a “long standing” problem with alcohol. He said Crimp had been drinking in the city centre and became involved the protest afterwards. He accepted he was on the frontline on that day. He also noted that he had been out of prison for “many years” save for the 28 day sentence and had not been in custody since 2019.

Sentencing Crimp, Judge Robert Linford said there was widespread public disorder with some coming to Plymouth to engage in peaceful protests and counter-protest, adding “you were not one of those”.

He said the police acted “with considerable and commendable restraint” in dealing with those intent on causing trouble. He said the shops, pubs, clubs and theatre in Plymouth all closed and the transport system was disrupted. He added that impact statements from the bus company highlighted the effect the disorder had on it and police reported general anxiety amongst the public even before the protest began.

Judge Linford said a medical centre was unable to provide cover as staff could not get to work and the ambulance service revealed how this “mob” caused them to suffer “thousands of pounds they could ill afford” by having to deploy additional resources.

He noted how people like Crimp descended on the city and “ran amok” with fireworks, missiles and other objects were thrown with the intent of damaging property and harming other people, including the police, “whose views differed from your own.

He said: “As I said yesterday and will say over and over again – the word is going to go out from this Crown court that people who behave in this way in this city are going to prison and going to prison for a long time.

“You played a role in this disorder. You did so willingly as I’ve seen on the CCTV and enthusiastically. The expression I used yesterday [during other sentencings] and repeat is you added oxygen to the fire of disorder.”

He added that Crimp’s role was as involved in the disorder as any he had already sentenced and while he was not a leader he was “heavily involved”.

Judge Linford noted that Crimp had “an enormous list of previous convictions including convictions for manslaughter, robbery, affray, possession of bladed articles, burglary, drugs offences, damaging people’s property, stealing and so forth”.

While noting that he had been out of prison for five years, Judge Linford said Crimp had not been out of trouble in that time. He said Crimp’s being under the influence of alcohol at the time was not a mitigating feature, it was an aggravating feature. The only “impressive” mitigation was his early guilty plea.

He passed a sentence of 32 months for the violent disorder and four months for the criminal damage to run concurrently.

In 2019 Crimp was jailed for 12 months after he used a plank of wood to break into a fudge shop in Southside Street, Barbican. Appearing at Plymouth Crown Court, it was said he had burgled a home hours before and confronted a dad while holding a rock.

The quick-thinking father managed to photograph the intruder on his mobile phone – and he was recognised by police. Crimp told police could barely recall the break-ins because he had taken Valium, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

Victoria Cook, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the South West, said: “Justin Crimp acted disgracefully during the collective disorder in Plymouth on Monday. By involving himself in the unrest and causing destruction to a high street store, he has shown an utter disregard for his community.

“Hundreds of prosecutors have been working around the clock across the Crown Prosecution Service, making rapid charging decisions so that suspects can be brought before the courts without delay.

“The appalling scenes we saw in Plymouth this week will not be tolerated. I hope these convictions send a clear message: those who engage in criminality in our communities will not escape justice.”

Plymouth Herald