&mdash; Far-Right Criminals

A teenager who threw a brick at police officers after trying to go to Gravity MAX and a masked man who brandished a knife near a vigil were among eight people to appear before the courts today. Seven of the eight men were charged with violent disorder in relation to various disturbances seen across Merseyside last week, while Jordan Davies admitted possession of a bladed article in a public place.

Violent riots were held last week in Southport, Liverpool city centre and on County Road in Walton as well as across a number of towns and cities across the UK. The riots followed the deaths of three girls in a mass stabbing in Southport on July 29, when people spread false information about the alleged attacker’s supposed ethnicity, nationality and religion.

During a court sentencing yesterday morning, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC said the riots were “used as a pretext for widespread violence, intimidation and damage”. Four of the men appeared for their first appearances at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court this morning.

Following a delay caused by the defendants, who had been remanded after their arrests, not arriving to court on time, proceedings started with the case of Gerard Cooch. Wearing a grey t-shirt and sporting a shaved head, he pleaded guilty to the charge of violent disorder.

Sarah McInerney, who prosecuted all four of the cases heard in magistrates’ court, said the defendant “shouted abuse in a vulgar fashion and threw the contents of a pint glass towards police officers” during the riots in the city centre. The court heard he kicked the police’s riots shields and was PAVA sprayed.

His defence, Tony Murphy, said the 39-year-old defendant, of Merton Road in Bootle, had acted alone and was not part of a far-right group. Following him was 19-year-old Curtis Faure. Dressed in a grey tracksuit, the teenager also pleaded guilty to the charge put before him.

The court heard the teenager had gone into the city centre during the riots, with the intention of meeting a friend and going to Gravity MAX. However, his defence Gary Bryan said his client picked up a brick and threw it towards the police “in a moment of madness”. He added the young defendant, of Thomas Lane in Broadgreen, accepted he threw the brick and went and handed himself in after his picture was circulated in the media.

District Judge Paul Healey, who presided over all four of the hearings in magistrates’ court, said the teenager “made the conscious decision to engage in the most violent disorder this country has seen in recent years.” Swiftly after Faure left the dock, after he too was remanded, Tony Hazlett, 46 and of Bank Road in Bootle, pleaded guilty to violent disorder in relation to the riots in Southport.

The court heard that the defendant was witnessed throwing bricks towards police officers during the riots after being invited to the north Sefton town by friends. Paul Kilty, defending, said his client had consumed alcohol on the day in question and had planned to go to the peaceful vigil.

He added his client had been filmed throwing two items in the direction of the police cordon, before leaving and getting the train home alone. Hazlett, who has 15 previous convictions for dozens of offences, including for affray and possession of an offensive weapon, was arrested at his home. He was remanded in custody after bail was refused.

The last man to appear in magistrates’ court was Tom Neblett, 20 and of High Park Road in Southport. Ms McInerney told the court that the defendant played “a leading role” in the Southport disorder. He was seen climbing on top of a white van and throwing bricks at police officers and vehicles.

Heather Toohey, defending Neblett, who has previous convictions both as an adult and as a youth, said her client refuted that he played a leading role. Instead, she said, he got “caught up in something on the streets of Southport”. He also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and all four of the men will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on August 15.

While the four defendants appeared at magistrates’ court, three more men appeared at the higher court to enter pleas relating to the same charge. Lloyd Killner, 35 and of Burton Road in Lincoln, and Jimmy Bailey, 45 and of Station Road in Ellesmere Port, both entered not guilty pleas to the violent disorder charge after having denied their involvement at magistrates’ court earlier in the week.

Both men’s cases were adjourned to September 13. However, Gareth Metcalfe, 44 and of Cambridge Gardens, Southport, pleaded guilty after choosing to not indicate a plea at the lower court. Metcalfe is believed to have “used or threatened unlawful violence” on St Luke’s Road and Sussex Road on July 30.

Judge Neil Flewitt KC told Metcalfe he can expect an immediate sentence of imprisonment when he returns next week to learn his fate. As he was led back to the docks he made a love heart sign with his hands to a man and woman in the public gallery.

After a break for lunch, Jordan Davies appeared at crown court to be sentenced for possession of a knife. Davies was spotted carrying a flick knife just minutes away from a vigil for Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice DaSilva Aguiar, who had all died after the fatal stabbing the day before.

Davies tried to claim he had found the weapon after urinating near a Tesco Express store – and after he was arrested, said his daughter had been stabbed and he had been assaulted. However, when his case got to court he pleaded guilty to the offence. Christopher Taylor, prosecuting, told the court members of the public “ran and screamed” after a woman was heard to shout “he’s got a knife”.

One witness, Michael Hayes, had been laying flowers at the scene with his partner, kids and friends and was forced to “push them into the nearby Baltic Supermarket for safety”. Davies, who has an extensive criminal record and was serving a suspended prison sentence at the time of the offence, was jailed for two years for the offence. His suspended sentence was also activated for a further 16 weeks.

Sentencing the mindless thug, Judge Denis Watson KC said Davies was on his way to join the mob who rioted close to a mosque on St Luke’s Road. The judge told him: “You claimed you had no knife, then that you had just found the knife and were going to hand it in.

“You claimed your daughter had just been stabbed. All of this was untrue. You were on your way to join the mob violence. Carrying knives at any time is a concern. Carrying a knife in this situation is particularly grave.”

The men who appeared in court today are the latest to appear in relation to the disorder. Seven men have already been convicted and handed immediate periods of imprisonment. Liam Riley, Declan Geiran and Derek Drummond were jailed on Wednesday. Adam and Ellis Wharton, William Nelson Morgan and John O’Malley followed them to prison the following day.

Twenty-two people have now been charged following 52 arrests. Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy has vowed to anyone involved in rioting “we are identifying you and we are coming for you”.

Judge Menary, Liverpool’s most senior judge, told his court yesterday: “It has long been recognised that there is an obligation on sentencing courts to do what they can to ensure the protection of the public, whether in their homes or in their businesses or in the streets, and to protect the places where they live and work.

“In seeking to achieve this aim, the courts will typically impose severe sentences for offences involving or connected to large scale and violent public disorder, intended to provide both punishment and deterrence. Quite simply, those who deliberately participate in such disorder, causing injury, damage and fear to communities will inevitably be punished with sentences designed to deter others from similar activity.”

Masked knifeman terrified families attending vigil for Southport stabbing victims

Jordan Davies claimed he’d found the knife close to a Tesco Express and had intended to hand it in to police

A balaclava clad man who brandished a knife close to the scene of a vigil for the victims of the Southport knife attacks claimed his daughter had been “stabbed up”.

Just over 24 hours on from the fatal stabbings of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, children and families fled in terror after Jordan Davies was spotted carrying a flick knife just minutes away from the scene.

One terrified dad even asked for his family to be locked inside a shop as the incident unfolded. Following his arrest, the mindless thug maintained he had found the weapon while urinating near to a Tesco Express store after downing cans of cider and said he was intending to hand the item in to the police.

Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Friday, that the “Southport community came together for a vigil” at 6pm on Tuesday, July 30, following the “tragedy” the previous day. Davies, of Portland Street in the town, was then seen in possession of the weapon a “short distance” away on Eastbank Street, near to the Wellington pub and a branch of KFC, at around 6.45pm.

Christopher Taylor, prosecuting, described how members of the public “ran and screamed” after a woman was heard to shout “he’s got a knife”. One witness, Michael Hayes, had been laying flowers at the scene with his partner, kids and friends and was forced to “push them into the nearby Baltic Supermarket for safety”.

Another, Claire Oldham, meanwhile saw Davies “approaching other males with the blade out”. The 32-year-old was also said to have pulled down a balaclava over his face during the altercation. Police officers subsequently found him “hiding behind a pillar” near to a snooker hall on Princes Street. While he initially “denied having anything on him”, the knife was then discovered inside a bag which he had been wearing around his neck.

Davies then claimed he had “simply picked the bag up” and was in the area “for a peaceful protest”. He added that “his daughter had been stabbed up and he had been assaulted”.

Footage taken from a PC’s body worn camera was played to the court and captured him saying: “I’ve got the bag off the floor, that’s it. I’ve got nothing on me.” When told why he was being detained, Davies replied: “Cos of yesterday and I look a bit foreign? Are you kidding me? I understand what’s gone on, my daughter’s been stabbed. That’s not my bag. I’ve just picked the bag up.

“How’ve I got a lock knife on my f***ing person? I’ve just picked the bag up. My daughter’s been stabbed up. How’ve I got a knife on me? I just picked the bag up off the floor.”

Under interview following his arrest, Davies stated he had earlier consumed “three to four ciders” at home and “picked up the pouch” while urinating near to a Tesco Express store “with the intention of placing it in an amnesty or taking it to a police station”. He added that he was only “seeking to do a good act”.

Mr Taylor told the court: “The town centre was full of families attending the vigil. There were many young children. The offence was committed in circumstances where there was a risk of serious disorder. This incident itself could have been a trigger event.”

Davies’ criminal record shows 15 previous convictions for 25 offences including assault, drink driving and public order matters. He was also handed a 16-week suspended prison sentence on June 19 this year for racially-aggravated harassment, battery and failing to surrender to custody.

His counsel Paul Becker outlined his client’s mental health issues and “serious eye condition” and, citing a letter penned by the defendant, said: “He does say he is neither right wing nor a Muslim and that he lived very close to where he was arrested. He takes this route on a daily basis to travel into the town centre. He is very much against the riots and was with his girlfriend at time. He is extremely sorry for the pain and suffering he has caused by the offences.

“He is a family man. He does have two young children. He is very upset about the horrendous events last Monday in Southport. I understand there has been negative publicity about him on social media and threats made as well. Of course, nobody was threatened with the blade. He understands that, 24 hours after the horrendous events, what was being said, that there was a knife, would have caused alarm to the public.”

Davies admitted possession of a bladed article in a public place and breaching a suspended sentence order. Appearing in the dock wearing a grey prison issue tracksuit and wearing short dark hair, he nodded as he was jailed for two years. His 16-week suspended sentence was also activated in full and ordered to run consecutively to this term, leading to a total sentence of two years and 16 weeks. Davies was meanwhile handed a serious violence reduction order, which will commence upon his release and last for two years thereafter, with forfeiture and destruction of the knife being ordered.

Liverpool Echo

First three Hull rioters jailed for ‘ugly violence’

The first three people convicted for their part in a violent protest in Hull have been jailed.

Hull Crown Court heard police officers were attacked when missiles were thrown at them, shops were looted and a hotel housing asylum seekers was targeted during the violence in the Ferensway, Jameson Street and Spring Bank areas on Saturday.

Andrew Stewart, 37, of Anlaby, Hull, and Brandon Kirkwood, 20, of Downing Grove, Hull, have each been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Christopher Douglas, 35, of Avenues Court, Hull, was jailed for two years and eight months.

Sentencing them, Judge Mark Bury said all three were involved in a “malevolent nature of violence”.

He said the “ugly violence” in Hull and other parts of the UK occurred following the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport, and the killings were “used as an excuse for mindless acts of violence”.

All three had pleaded guilty to violent disorder at previous Hull Magistrates Court hearings.

The court heard racial chants were heard during the mass disorder, which started in the afternoon and carried on into the evening.

Prosecutor Jeremy Evans said projectiles had been thrown at police, and smoke bombs and pyrotechnics had been set off.

One police officer needed four stiches to his face and was “scarred for life” but “remarkably” came back on duty later in the evening, Mr Evans said.

Judge Bury said Douglas, a military veteran who completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan, was at the “front and centre” of the disorder while Stewart “clearly targeted individuals of the hotel”.

He said Kirkwood, who had pushed a large bin at a line of officers, had “to some extent been swept up” by the unrest.

“This was violent disorder of the very worst kind,” said the judge.

Men in court over roles in violent disorder

Two men have appeared in court for their roles in recent violent disorder.

Philip Hoban, 48, was convicted at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after being charged with causing racially, religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress through words at disorder at Victoria Square in Leeds on 3 August.

Hoban, of Northcote Crescent, Leeds, will be sentenced at the city’s crown court on 15 August.

Meanwhile, Christopher Clayton, 66, also appeared before magistrates charged with two counts of violent disorder in Rotherham and Merseyside.

Mr Clayton, of Station Cottages, Wakefield, was also charged with seven offences of possession of an offensive weapon in a private place and possession of an article of police uniform.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Leeds Crown Court on 15 August.

West Yorkshire Police said it had made a total 20 arrests related to the disorder since 3 August.

The force said it would “use the investigative tools available to us to bring those involved in the recent disorder to justice”.

Stacey Vint jailed for pushing bin at police in Middlesbrough

This is the moment a woman jailed for violent disorder falls flat on her face after trying to push a burning wheelie bin at cops.

Stacey Vint, 34, was captured on video trying to shove the bin towards police with riot shields before falling flat on her face.

Appearing at Teesside Crown Court on Friday Vint, she was jailed for one year and eight months.

Vint, of Normanby Road, watched on from the public gallery as the clip was played twice to the court.

She was quickly arrested by police after her position on the ground.

The contents of the bin were on fire and left smouldering in the street.

Prosecutor Miss Rachel Masters said Vint, who has one previous conviction for theft and received a police caution in July for battery, was found with a small amount of cannabis in her possession.

Vint, of Normanby Road, Middlesbrough pleaded guilty earlier this week to a charge of violent disorder and possession of the class B drug.

Mitigating, her counsel Mr Turton said she holds no racist views and is not “anti-police”. He said she had long-running alcohol and drug problems.

He said: “One of the gentlemen, had he lit the wheelie bin or not, asked her to give him a hand and she did.”

She had been living homeless having left an abusive relationship and had moved to a hotel, Mr Turton added.

Sentencing her, Judge Francis Laird KC, said: “You chose to take part in a large scale and violent act of public disorder.”

In a community impact statement read to the court Geoff Field from Middlesbrough Council said: “Days after the event there is worry and concern across the affected communities. We still have residents saying they are afraid to leave their houses.

“One house had small children in the living room when windows were smashed.

“Riots that took place had and continue to have a significant impact on both Middlesbrough the town, and its residents. The residents and many shopkeepers are extremely frightened by the scenes on Sunday (August 4). Some residents were physically injured, and there is also psychological trauma to those living in the affected wards.”

Northern Echo

Maryport man jailed over racist online post

A man who wrote a Facebook post which included emojis of a person of ethnic minority and a gun has been jailed.

Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard that Billy Thompson, 31, posted online in response to Cumbria Police announcing a dispersal order over potential planned disorder on Wednesday.

The court was told Thompson, of Maryport, did not know it was an offence to make the comments.

He admitted sending a message that was grossly offensive, or of indecent, obscene or menacing character by means of a public electronic communications network and was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail.

The court heard the father-of-one had nine previous convictions for 13 offences.

Kate Hunter, defending, said Thompson apologised and “certainly says he won’t be repeating this mistake again”.

Of the criminal post and emojis, Ms Hunter said: “His version is that that comment relates to police, not to anything else.”

‘Racial element’

But district judge John Temperley said he did not accept the comments and emojis were directed at the police.

“This offence, I’m afraid, has to be viewed in the context of the current civil unrest up and down this country. And I’ve no doubt at all that your post is connected to that wider picture,” Mr Temperley said.

“I’ve read in the case summary of the comments you made on arrest which clearly demonstrate to me that there was a racial element to the messaging and the posting of these emojis.”

It comes as another man is set to stand trial at the end of the month charged with posting offensive Facebook comments, allegedly encouraging violence against police ahead of planned disorder.

Giving a brief outline of the charges, prosecutor George Shelley said they related to two separate posts on Facebook, in the context of ongoing national disturbances throughout the country.

The 41-year-old defendant from Carlisle pleaded not guilty.

He was granted bail on condition he does not post anything on social media between now and his trial on 29 August at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court.

Sunderland rioters jailed for ‘orgy of violence’

The first four people to be convicted for their part in a violent protest in Sunderland a week ago have been jailed.

Up to 700 people were involved in a night of violence on 2 August, in which police officers were repeatedly attacked, a building burnt out and businesses looted, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

A woman who pushed bins at officers and a man who threw missiles were among those jailed for more than two years.

Judge Paul Sloan KC said they had brought “shame” upon Sunderland and were part of an “orgy of mindless, destructive violence”.

Prosecutor Omar Ahmed said a “planned protest” started at about 16:00 BST in Sunderland city centre, but it “very soon turned into widespread violent disorder”.

He said at its peak about 700 people were thought to be involved, with multiple police officers subjected to “serious and sustained levels of violence” over the course of several hours.

Four officers needed hospital treatment, while many others were not yet fit enough to return to frontline duties, Mr Ahmed said.

He said the officers’ families had to watch in “fear for their loved ones” as the attacks were shown on the news and social media.

“It was simply not safe for ordinary members of the public to be in the city centre at that time,” Mr Ahmed said, adding a police office on Waterloo Place was set on fire, businesses were damaged, shops looted and numerous windows smashed.

One officer said it was the “worst and most frightening” disorder they had experienced in 27 years of service, Mr Ahmed said.

The first defendant to be jailed was Andrew Smith, 41, of High Street East in Sunderland, who threw a can of alcohol at officers before being taken down by a police dog at about 19:30.

In mitigation, Helen Towers said Smith was “deeply ashamed of what he did to his own community” and wanted to apologise to everyone impacted and the police.

Smith, who had numerous previous convictions including for racially aggravated criminal damage, was jailed for two years and two months.

‘Revelling in mayhem’

Josh Kellett was reported to police by a member of the public who recognised him from a live stream on social media, Mr Ahmed said.

In the footage, Kellett, who was wearing a balaclava, repeatedly threw rocks and stones at officers during the “violent and chaotic scenes”, the prosecutor said.

In mitigation, Andrew Espley said Kellett had anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and, like most people in the country, wished “the clocks could be turned back” to before the disorder.

Kellet, 29 and of Southcroft in Washington, was jailed for two and a half years after Judge Sloan said footage from the scene showed him “revelling in the mayhem”.

Leanne Hodgson, 43 and of Holborn Road in Sunderland, was first seen by officers in Keel Square at about 15:30 where she shouted racist abuse at an officer, Mr Ahmed said.

Later she barged into an officer and was seen pushing bins at police, as well as pulling up paving stones for other people to throw, the court heard.

Hodgson, who was wearing distinctive bright pink shorts during the melee, also smashed a police car windscreen by throwing an object through it, the court heard.

She was jailed for two and a half years.

Bradley Makin filmed himself cheering on attacks on police and buildings and shared it on his Instagram page, the court heard.

He was heard shouting slogans associated with the English Defence League and yelled encouragement as items, including metal beer kegs and scaffolding poles, were hurled through windows of an office building and at officers, Mr Ahmed said.

In mitigation, Peter Thubron said Makin had gone to the scene out of curiosity and “and got sucked into it”, adding he “didn’t touch anyone, didn’t touch anything, didn’t pick anything up” and did not realise the connotations of what he was chanting.

Makin, 21 and of Simonside Road in Sunderland, also admitted possession of cocaine and heroin which police found at his home when they went to arrest him and was jailed for two years.

‘Ferocious attacks’

Judge Sloan said the rioters had “brought shame upon the city of Sunderland”, telling them: “For no justifiable reason whatsoever you and many more gathered in the city centre and participated in an orgy of mindless destructive violence and disorder.”

In a statement read to the court, Northumbria Police chief constable Vanessa Jardine said the estimated policing cost of the riots was more than £1m, while the cost of repairing all the damage caused would “likely be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds”.

She said officers suffered fractured fingers and head injuries during “ferocious” attacks and the actions of those in Sunderland “fuelled and encouraged” other violent mobs around the country.

Man jailed after inciting racial hatred online

A man has been jailed for 38 months after inciting racial hatred online.

Father-of-three Tyler Kay, 26, received the prison term after stirring up racial hatred by using social media to call for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set alight.

The offence is understood to be linked to online comments regarding recent disorder.

Kay pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court after being charged with publishing written material which was threatening, abusive or insulting, thereby intending to stir up racial hatred.

You can read the sentencing remarks here

Boy, 16, admits role in Bolton disorder