People charged following North East riots in court

By
September 26, 2024
Uncategorized

A number of people have appeared in court in connection with a series of riots and violent disorder which took place in the summer across the North East.

Defendants from around the region were charged following outbreaks of largescale disorder in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool as well as smaller disturbances in Darlington and Willington in late July early August.

Judge Francis Laird KC dealt with about 20 defendants throughout a day of hearings to set trial dates and sentencing hearings.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, handled the cases and brought together several defendants into different trial dates in the coming months.

Leah Lee, of Hall Lane Estate, Willington, has pleaded guilty to racially aggravated damage to property after she smashed a window during a violent disturbance in the town on August 5.

A charge of violent disorder was allowed to lay on file.

The court heard how the teenager called a man a ‘P*** b******’ after smashing a window.

The 19-year-old was remanded in custody until she is sentenced on Friday, November 8.

Tabitha Buck, representing the teenager, asked for a pre-sentence report to be conducted as her client was a vulnerable young woman.

Judge Laird warned the teenager that she is facing a custodial sentence for her behaviour.

Andrew Livingstone, Clifton Street, Middlesbrough, who has pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article following the violent disorder in the town on August 4.

The judge heard how the 53-year-old’s home had been targeted by a group of youths and he came out to chase them away.

Tabitha Buck, representing the defendant, said he handed over one of the youths to the police before they discovered he was carrying a knife.

Judge Laird KC said: “You are in a different position to many of those who have appeared before me charged with violent disorder from these events.

“As I understand it, you were at your home and people came to cause trouble and you chased them away.

“Unfortunately for you, you had a knife on you at the time. It is accepted that it was not produced.”

Livingstone will return to court next week to be sentenced.

A teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced on Thursday, October 10, for his behaviour in Middlesbrough on August 4.

Paul Thirlwell, of Gloucester Crescent, Wigan; 19-year-old McCauley Shirbon, of Cornwall Street, Hartlepool; and 42-year-old Anthony Allen, of Ormesby Road, Hartlepool; are all accused of being involved in violent disorder in Hartlepool on July 31.

All three had earlier entered a not guilty plea to the charge.

The 42-year-old Thirlwell pleaded guilty to a charge of racially aggravated common assault from the same date.

All three cases were joined together and a five-day trial will start on December 3.

Karl Croaker, of Longford Street, Middlesbrough, who is charged with violent disorder in Middlesbrough on August 4.

The 31-year-old denies the charge and will go on trial on February 3, 2025 alongside other co-accused.

Regan Walker, 23, of Saltney Road, Norton, near Stockton, had pleaded not guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, a metal bar, when he was allegedly spotted holding it while on Park Road North, Middlesbrough.

Connor Stokes, 26, of Mansfield Avenue, Thornaby, had pleaded not guilty to violent disorder.

While Lucas Taylor, 44, of Worcester Street, Middlesbrough, is also due to go on trial with the two other defendants after he was charged with violent disorder.

They will go on trial in February.

Ethan Bowes, 18, of Woodhouse, Road, Guisborough, 42-year-old Christopher Howard, of Huntley Close, Middlesbrough, 20-year-old Kaleb Peacock-Lightfoot, of Dixon Grove, Middlesbrough, and Anthony Brown, 37, of Windsor Road, Middlesbrough, have all pleaded not guilty to violent disorder from events on August 4.

Their cases were all joined together and the trial will take place on November 25 this year.

Judge Laird KC remanded them in custody until that date.

Northern Echo

Leah Lee has pleaded guilty to racially aggravated damage to property

By
September 26, 2024
Uncategorized

Leah Lee, of Hall Lane Estate, Willington, has pleaded guilty to racially aggravated damage to property after she smashed a window during a violent disturbance in the town on August 5.

A charge of violent disorder was allowed to lay on file.

The court heard how the teenager called a man a ‘P*** b******’ after smashing a window.

The 19-year-old was remanded in custody until she is sentenced on Friday, November 8.

Tabitha Buck, representing the teenager, asked for a pre-sentence report to be conducted as her client was a vulnerable young woman.

Judge Laird warned the teenager that she is facing a custodial sentence for her behaviour.

Northern Echo

Four admit role in violent disorder

By
September 26, 2024
Uncategorized

Four people, have admitted taking part in violent disorder in Staffordshire in August.

Three men and a boy all pleaded guilty to charges relating to unrest in Hanley and Tamworth – where a Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers was targeted by rioters.

Hayden Cooper-Horne, 18, of Tamworth, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and possessing a controlled drug of class B.

Lewis Edwards, 21, of Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, Jordan Winyard, 28, of no fixed address, and a 16-year-old boy, of Stoke-on-Trent, all pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

During the riot in Tamworth, Cooper-Horne threw rocks at officers, while Winyard was seen wearing a pig mask when he threw missiles at officers, police dogs and the hotel, Staffordshire Police said.

It was one of a wave of protests and riots that swept the UK at the beginning of August in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

In part they were fuelled by false claims the suspect was a migrant who had come to the country in a small boat.

In Hanley, the 16-year-old boy was seen wearing a balaclava as he launched missiles at police.

Edwards was also seen throwing a rock at officers.

Staffordshire Police said 105 people had now been arrested and 42 charged with offences relating to the violent disorder.

Winyard is due to be sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday, while Cooper-Horne is due to appear at the same court on 8 November.

The 16-year-old boy – who cannot be named for legal reasons – is due to be sentenced at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 16 October and Edwards is due to be sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 1 November.

BBC News

Boy, 15, ‘so sorry’ for part in city riot

By
September 26, 2024
Uncategorized

A 15-year-old boy has told a court he is “so ashamed” of his part in this summer’s rioting.

The teenager, who cannot be named, was caught on CCTV throwing missiles at police officers and stealing items from Greggs and Lush in Hull city centre on 3 August.

His parents took him to a police station after they spotted him in videos showing the disorder, Grimsby Magistrates’ Court, sitting as a youth court, was told on Thursday.

He pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to violent disorder and two counts of burglary but avoided prison after the judge told him he felt his remorse was “genuine”.

Several towns and cities across England saw disorder following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July in Southport, Merseyside.

In Hull, officers were attacked, shops looted and fires started as a demonstration turned violent.

The boy told the court: “I know what I did was wrong and I can’t take back my actions. I am trying my hardest to turn my life around. I’m so ashamed of myself and I am so, so sorry.”

As well as being captured on CCTV, the boy appeared on TikTok videos throwing rocks, water bottles and pieces of metal at police.

He was also seen helping others throw a ladder at officers and encouraged another person to smash the window of a Greggs store before stealing food and moving on to Lush where he helped himself to bath products.
‘Supportive family’

Joe Painter, mitigating, said: “He was involved to a significant degree and he appreciates that. It’s felt that [the boy] was heavily influenced by his peers.”

Sentencing, District Judge Daniel Curtis explained why he had decided not to jail the teenager.

He said: “It is not lost on me that your family, when they saw that you were involved, took you to the police station. That for me is the hallmark of a loving and supportive family.”

The boy, who was supported in the dock by his mother, said: “It has hurt them in many ways. I am willing to do anything to make it right.”

The judge said he felt the boy’s statement to the court was both “genuine” and “reflects remorse”.

“If I sent you to custody, that would have a dramatic impact on your education,” said the judge.

“It would have a dramatic impact on your future as a child because it would most likely be that you were in an institution with people that led you astray on the 3rd of August.”

In addition to the referral order, the boy was ordered to pay £200 in compensation.

BBC News

‘Madness’ saw rioter rip off police van mirror

By
September 26, 2024
Uncategorized

A rioter who ripped a wing mirror off a police van in a “moment of complete and utter madness” has been jailed.

Dean Fowler, 32, was filmed attacking the van during widespread violence outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on 4 August.

He pleaded guilty to violent disorder at a previous hearing and said he “wished he had never gone” to the riot, his barrister told the court.

Fowler, from Barnsley, was jailed for two and a half years at Sheffield Crown Court.

Video played during his sentencing showed how the van was one of two police vehicles targeted by rioters, who violently rocked one of them as they surrounded them both.

Laura Marshall, defending, said her client had left his home to “clear his head” after an argument with his partner, and saw what was happening at the hotel on social media.

She said he made the “foolish decision to go down there”.

Fowler was “extremely remorseful” and wished to apologise to officers, she added.

“He said it was moment of complete and utter madness and he wished he had never gone,” Ms Marshall said.

The court heard how 64 police officers, four dogs and a horse were injured in the violence outside the hotel, which was being used to house asylum seekers.

Neil Coxon, prosecuting, told the court one senior police officer said in a statement that he had “never seen a crowd so out of control” and it was “sheer mob mentality”.

BBC News

Spitting racist thugs ‘violated, degraded and dehumanised’ woman caught in middle of Piccadilly Gardens ‘protest’

By
September 25, 2024
Uncategorized

‘I could feel how hateful those words were, especially as I was there on my own without anyone I knew’

A woman was subjected to vile racist abuse before being spat on during the ‘protests’ in Manchester last month.

Thomas Richard, 56, was one of a large group who gathered in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3. Footage played to Manchester Crown Court, showed how the group encircled three young women who were wearing hijabs and headscarves before hurling Islamophobic abuse at them.

During the disorder a number of males, including Richard, can be seen spitting towards them. One of the women, who had been out shopping in the city centre, was spat on by another man, with the spit landing on her face.

The ‘protest’ arose after false information about the identity and background of the man accused of killing three children in Southport was spread online.

Earlier pleading guilty to violent disorder, today (September 24) Richard, of Miles Platting, was jailed.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, the woman said: “I am very much appalled and disgraced at the behaviour of the far-right EDL members towards myself. The assault was completely unprovoked as I was just watching from a sensible distance and do not feel under any circumstances I deserved what had happened to me.

“Being spat on is a despicable act that made me feel extremely violated, degraded and dehumanised. I felt scared and worried for my safety (and others) in that moment and I still do.

“As a result of this assault I am now terrified to leave my own home because of these people and what happened to me.”

The court heard that the 22-year-old who describes herself as a white British woman, wearing a hijab and a keffiyeh scarf, representing Palestine, was observing the large group and police in Piccadilly Gardens during the afternoon.

“Seeing that the group were becoming more violent, and the police were trying to disperse them in a different direction, she tried to go across Piccadilly Gardens,” prosecutor Kate Gaskell said.

“She heard shouts of “Stop the boats” AND “Go back home”, as well as comments about her God, Allah, and religion. She said ‘I could feel how hateful those words were, especially as I was there on my own without anyone I knew’.

“She was confronted by one member who said, ‘What are you doing here, can’t you see you are antagonising us’. She informed him she was simply watching. In retrospect she thought perhaps she should have left but she didn’t want to let them win, and it was a public place.”

The court heard that the situation escalated quickly, during which time two Muslim girls in headscarves came to join her. They were quickly surrounded by a large group of individuals chanting “Go back home.”

The woman told them to leave the two girls alone, at which point the insults were directed at her, and a large number began filming her. They commented that she had been brainwashed, and asked whether she had been married when she was 6 years old, it was said.

The crowd became more aggressive and started shouting ‘Get that terrorist flag off her’ pulling her Keffiyeh scarf before several Muslim males came to assist her.

“Before she had a chance to move, she felt spit land on her right cheek,” Ms Gaskell added.

In footage obtained by the police, Richard could be seen chanting and pointing his fingers in a gun gesture at the three girls, shouting: ‘F*** off home.”

“He was aggressively shouting and spat in the direction of the three girls, though he was not responsible for the spit that landed on the victim,” the prosecutor said.

“The defendant continued shouting ‘F*** off home’ and then ‘F*** off to Palestine’. One of the photojournalists present further heard him say something to the effect of ‘Take the burkas’ and ‘We want our country back’.

Damien Zelazowski, mitigating, conceded that the three young women were ‘targeted’ by the group for some time, and were ‘pursued’ when they were under police protection.

On the day in question, he said: “He was passing through on his way to St Anne’s Square to go to the footbank. He saw the protests and became involved in the incident thinking it would be more peaceful than it was.

“But he didn’t move away and he became more involved. He does offer his apologies, he is ashamed of what took place. He became emboldened by the crown and, to use his wording, swept up.”

Sentencing Richard, who has 55 previous convictions for 141 offences, Judge Patrick Field KC said the ‘protest’ had the appearance of people ‘venting ill informed and ignorant prejudices’.

“They were racist, ill informed and Islamophobia chanting and vile abuse towards her. Her calm defiance in the fact of what was being said to her was frankly admirable and humbling,” he said.

“She stood up for herself and her beliefs in the face of the nasty, ill educated and intolerant comments. She said she felt dehumanised by what happened to her – she demonstrated more humanity than many others present.

“You were threatening and deliberately insulting her not because you took a personal dislike to her, but simply because of her Muslim faith.”

Richard, of Kingsland Close, Miles Platting, was jailed for 20 months. He was also banned from entering a certain area in Manchester city centre for three years under the terms of a criminal behaviour order.

Manchester Evening News

Bricklayer jailed for throwing fire extinguisher and chair at police at hotel

By
September 25, 2024
Uncategorized

Ashley Williams was caught on CCTV as he roamed around the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham with a fire extinguisher in his hand.

A bricklayer who went into a hotel which was besieged by rioters before throwing a fire extinguisher and a chair at police has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Ashley Williams, 21, was caught on CCTV as he roamed around the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, on August 4 with a fire extinguisher in his hand as more than 200 asylum seekers took shelter upstairs and staff barricaded themselves into the kitchen.

The footage was shown at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday along with further clips which showed him emerging from the building, wearing very distinctive “neon green” shorts and a t-shirt, and throwing the fire extinguisher at a line of police officers with riot shields who were pinned against a wall.

Williams, of Lowfield Walk, Denaby Main, South Yorkshire, then re-joined the large crowd which was screaming at the officers and throwing missiles before emerging again to throw a chair at the line of shields.

The court heard how 64 police officers, four horses and a dog were injured in the violence outside the hotel and the mob tried to set fire to the building as a number of people smashed their way in through a fire door.

James Burley, defending, said his client came from a “stable, loving home” and is “adamant there is no issue of racist intent”.

Mr Burley said Williams, who admitted violent disorder at an earlier hearing, has ADHD and has recently also been diagnosed with autism.

Judge Sarah Wright acknowledged that the defendant “struggled with consequential thinking” and had no previous convictions.

But she said he played a willing role in the violence.

Judge Wright said the disorder was “truly frightening” and added: “The police officers behaved with immense professionalism in the face of a determined and violent mob.”

More than 50 people have now been sentenced following the incident at the hotel.

Also on Wednesday, Nathan Annables, 25, of Manor Avenue, Goldthorpe, pleaded guilty to violent disorder in relation to the violence in Manvers.

He was remanded in custody to appear again at Sheffield Crown Court on October 16.

Evening Standard

Teenager in pink balaclava jailed for his part in shameful disorder in Bolton – and handed massive compo bill

By
September 25, 2024
Uncategorized

James Nelson was jailed for two months

A teenager who donned a pink balaclava in a bid to ‘evade identification’ has been jailed after damaging two police cars during the shameful disorder in Bolton town centre.

James Nelson, 18, of Bolton, pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage during the disorder in Bolton on Sunday (August 4).

At Manchester Magistrates’ Court, prosecutor John Potter said that two police cars, a Ford Focus and a Peugeot, were parked in the Morrison car park on Black Horse Street.

“On the first vehicle, there was significant damage to the windscreen, the side windows were smashed and the driver’s side wing mirror was also damaged. On the second vehicle, the back window was smashed and the near side window was smashed, with significant damage to the front window,” he said.

He was said to have no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Gabriella Black said her client suffers from ADHD and issues with anger for which he was prescribed medication that he had ‘not been taking’.

“This was in the context of being involved in a situation with a group of people,” she said. Nelson lives with his grandparents and was said to have acted ‘completely out of character’.

The court heard that he was wearing a pink balaclava at the time.

“Why did he attend wearing a pink balaclava?,” District Judge Hirst asked. “I’m not sure,” Miss Black said.

“He was trying to evade identification, should he be involved in violence?,” District Judge Hirst said.

“He accepts he was involved in this violence,” Ms Black said. “He brought a pink balaclava, though he was clearly identified by witnesses. He was not thinking properly, he was immature and naive to the gravity of the consequences of the offences he committed.”

Jailing him for two months, DJ Hirst said: “You attended that violence with the intent of causing trouble. You were involved in the appalling and shameful violent disorder that impacted not just the national community, but in particular the Bolton community.

“I accept you may have difficulties but I understand that everyone involved in that violence has difficulties.”

She added that an immediate custodial sentence would ‘deter others from damaging police vehicles’.

Nelson, of Victoria Road, was also ordered to pay £4,999 compensation.

Manchester Evening News

Man jailed after admitting disorder during riot

By
September 25, 2024
Uncategorized



A man has been jailed after admitting violent disorder during a riot.

John Walker, 25, took part in the Middlesbrough disorder on 4 August following the killing of three girls at a dance event in Southport, Merseyside.

Walker, of Fransham Road, Middlesbrough, was jailed for two years and six months after pleading guilty at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday.

Supt Marc Anderson, who was Silver Commander during the disorder, said he had never “seen anything like” in 30 years of service.

By the end of August, Cleveland Police had arrested more than 110 people following disorder in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.

BBC News

Boy, 15, sentenced for throwing kegs during disorder

By
September 25, 2024
Uncategorized

A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced for throwing beer barrels at police during a violent city protest.

The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, was sentenced to a 12 month referral order at Bristol Youth Court earlier.

He pleaded guilty to violent disorder, which included pushing members of the public and aggressively gesticulating towards officers, at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 20 August.

The unrest occurred when hundreds of far-right protesters and a counter-protest group gathered for two demonstrations near Castle Park in Bristol on 3 August.

Twelve months is the maximum amount of time a referral order can be imposed, and obliges youth offenders to agree to a contract of rehabilitative and restorative activities.

Avon and Somerset Police Det Ch Insp Tom Herbert said: “This boy’s behaviour was reckless and completely unacceptable and it is right that he was sentenced in court today.”

He added that the boy was the 25th person to be sentenced for their involvement in the disorder and that police had so far arrested 51 people – charging 40.

BBC News