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Four more men have pleaded guilty to violent disorder following protests held in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowak.

Hampshire Police said earlier it had charged six more men, in their 20s and 30s – four from Southampton, one from Gosport and Romsey – after disorder in the city on Tuesday night.

The protests followed the release of police bodycam footage showing 18-year-old Nowak being placed in handcuffs after he had been stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who was jailed for life on Monday.

All six appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday. This brings the total number of people charged following the protests to 11.

Earlkier on Saturday, Hampshire Police said the following five men had been charged with violent disorder:

Kevin Reeves, 31, of Portswood Road, Southampton

Andrew Riddett, 38, of Seacombe Green, Southampton

Harry Varney, 34, of Briarswood, Southampton

Taylor Grundy, 22, of Pavillion Way, Gosport

Dillon Crawford, 29, of Wilton Avenue, Southampton

A sixth man, Andrew Summerhayes, 38, of Banning Street, Romsey, was charged with violent disorder and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

Summerhayes, Crawford, Varney and Grundy pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Southampton Magistrates Court earlier. Varney and Grundy’s bail applications have been denied.

Summerhayes further pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an offensive weapon, which were a wheelie bin and a traffic cone. He made no application for bail.

No pleas have been entered for Reeves and Riddett, and no bail application was made for the them.

All six are due to appear at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday.

To date eight men have pleaded guilty to violent disorder, with one also having a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon. One man has denied assaulting a police officer.

Connor Bishop, 24, Reece Robinson, 21, and Noah Etherington, 18, admitted violent disorder during magistrates’ court hearings in Southampton and Portsmouth on Friday.

Daniel Frost, 44, of Southampton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to violent disorder and possessing a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon following the protests.

Also on Thursday, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.

Nowak, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, was fatally stabbed in Southampton in December by Digwa, who falsely claimed he had been racially abused and had acted in self-defence.

Nowak was a first-year accountancy and finance student at the University of Southampton.

BBC News

Three men have pleaded guilty to violent disorder following protests held in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowak.

Connor Bishop, 24, Reece Robinson, 21, and Noah Etherington, 18, all admitted to the charge during magistrates’ court hearings in Southampton and Portsmouth.

They had been arrested after protests on Tuesday night that followed the release of police bodycam footage showing 18-year-old Nowak being placed in handcuffs after he had been stabbed by 23-year-old killer Vickrum Digwa.

Bishop, from Southampton, and Robinson and Etherington, both from Havant, have been remanded in custody to be sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Monday.

Prosecutor Kevin Lucie told Southampton Magistrates’ Court that CCTV footage showed Bishop “picking up and throwing a traffic cone” towards police.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ heard that Etherington was captured in multiple clips near the police line and threw a brick in the direction of officers.

Daniel Frost, 44, of Southampton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to violent disorder and possessing a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon following the protests.

A second man, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.

The treatment of Nowak, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, triggered a political row, with the prime minister urging politicians to heed the teenager’s relatives’ calls not to use the case “to cause disturbances”.

Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years on Monday.

BBC News

A man has pleaded guilty to violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon after protesters clashed with police near the site of 18-year-old Henry Nowak’s fatal stabbing.

Daniel Frost, of Northam Road, Southampton, threw dustbins at police officers during the protest on Tuesday evening, Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard.

He also admitted possessing a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon.

The 44-year-old, who has 25 previous convictions for 55 offences, was remanded in custody to be sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on 16 July.

The court heard Frost’s previous offending included four instances of public disorder and possession of a blade.

Oliver O’Connor, defending, said the father of two, who lives alone with his dog, was “at pains to tell the court of his shame of his involvement, one of the biggest regrets in his life”.

Police were pelted with missiles during the disorder near the home of Nowak’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, in the Portswood area of Southampton.

Eleven officers and one police dog were injured.

Protesters voiced anger that Nowak was arrested and handcuffed in December as he told police he had been stabbed and could not breathe.

Digwa had lied to officers by telling them he had been racially abused by Nowak.

A short time later, officers realised the student, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, had been stabbed in the chest. He died at the scene.

Nola Bond, prosecuting, told the court Frost had thrown dustbins and a chair at police.

She added: “He had around his neck a dog lead with a carabiner and wrapped it around his knuckles and taunted police officers to come and take it off him.”

District Judge Anthony Callaway sent the case to be sentenced at the city’s crown court after explaining the offences were too serious for the powers of the magistrates’ court.

Frost was charged along with Matt Styler, 50, of Orange Grove, Gosport, who pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.

The court heard veteran soldier Styler, who served with the parachute regiment, was accused of kicking a police sergeant.

He was remanded in custody until a pre-trial hearing to be held at Southampton Crown Court on 26 June.

BBC News