£19k worth of stolen vapes, a flaming bin and a knuckle duster: Rioters file through courts as disorder crackdown continues
9 August 2024, 16:43 | Updated: 11 August 2024, 06:47
Several more people have appeared in court over charges relating to the recent riots, including an opportunist teenager who used the chaos to steal thousands of pounds worth of vapes.
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The 16-year-old boy admitted to stealing £19,000 worth of vapes during riots in Liverpool, with Liverpool Crown Court hearing how he was seen on CCTV with a group who pulled a police officer off his bike then attacked him.
The teenager later used an electric scooter to ram a shop window and help himself to armfuls of the e-cigarettes.
It follows a woman who admitted to pushing over a large flaming bin towards police in Sunderland, after getting involved when the pub where she had been drinking closed.
Appearing in Newcastle Crown Court, Leanne Hodgson, 43, of Holborn Road, Sunderland, deliberately ran into an officer and called another one a "f****** black c***" during the disorder on August 2.
Meanwhile at Bristol Magistrates' Court, scaffolder Lee James, 42, admitted possessing a knuckle-duster during protests in Southampton on August 7 and was remanded into custody for sentencing on August 12.
His defence lawyer, Janet Brownlow, said her client had attended the protest "out of curiosity" and wanted to stress that he is "not a racist".
It's the latest in the string of rioter and counter-protestor appearances in courts across the country, as Tory councillor Raymond Connolly's wife was refused jail by a judge on Saturday after calling on rioters to 'set fire' to a hotel containing migrants.
It followed the appearance of Tyler Kay, Jordan Parlour and Richard Williams in court, with a judge jailing them for three years and two months, one year and eight months, and three months respectively, for stirring up violence on social media.
Kay, 26, wrote a social media post calling for migrant hotels to be set on fire. The Northampton man added in a later post that it was “100% the plan”.
Parlour, 28, encouraged rioters to attack a Leeds hotel used to house asylum seekers between August 1 and August 5.
He wrote that immigrants "rape our kids and get priority", sharing the racially aggravating messages with his 15,000 Facebook friends.
There was no evidence that Parlour actually went to the hotel.
Read more: First armchair rioter jailed for 20 months over online posts 'inciting racial hatred'
Williams, 34, from the Welsh town of Ewloe, admitted sending menacing messages on a Facebook page dedicated to protests.
He became the first person for Wales to be jailed for the recent disorder.
Elsewhere, a Harry Potter fan who had come to London for a tour of filming locations was sent to prison for ten months after assaulting a police officer.
Reading man Ozzie Cush, 20, stuck his middle finger up at a group of Met officers before kicking one in the hand at a violent rally near Trafalgar Square on July 31.
He said was not part of the protest and that he kicked out after he felt threatened by the police, but bodyworn footage showed he made the first move towards officers.
Cush, who had previous convictions for criminal damage, pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker at Reading Magistrates' Court.
He will serve his sentence in a young offenders' institution.
Sentencing, Judge Benedict Kelleher said Cush showed "a complete contempt" for the force and was "clearly deliberate".
He added: "Your actions also ran the risk of inflaming the wider situation and encouraging others to attack the police."
In Plymouth, a man was sentenced to two years and eight months after pleading guilty to violent disorder.
Justin Crimp, 49, of Palace Street, was jailed at Plymouth Crown Court after throwing a brick twice at the glass door of a TK Maxx in the Plymouth riot last week.
In Leeds, Jordan Plain, 30, was jailed for eight months after he was filmed making monkey gestures and shouting "rubber lips" towards black and Asian people.
At one point Plain was filmed with others mocking Muslim prayers. Plain, of Broadway Horsforth, admitted racially aggravated harassment earlier this week.
Several people were jailed in Sunderland for their roles in the riot that took place there last Friday night.
Bradley Makin, 21, who posted videos of himself "roaring encouragement" at the rioters to his own Instagram account was jailed for two years.
He pleaded guilty to violent disorder as well as possession of cocaine and heroin.
Newcastle Crown Court was told he could be heard in the footage encouraging other males to carry out disorder, shouting "go on" and "every f****** window, come on".
The court heard Makin was identified by his Instagram username and arrested at his home by officers who found him asleep in his bedroom with a bag of brown powder, and one of white powder, next to him.
Andrew Smith, 41, who was bitten by a police dog after throwing a can at police officers was jailed for 26 months.
Leanne Hodgson, 43, who repeatedly pushed industrial bins at a police, deliberately ran into an officer and called another one a "f****** black c***" during the disorder, was jailed for two and a half years.
Josh Kellett, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after being seen on police drone footage throwing stones at officers.
The bouts of violent disorder that have swept across the UK over the past ten days were sparked by the killing of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Aguiar at a dance class in Southport on Monday, July 29.
False rumours about the identity of the killer spread online in the aftermath, kicking off widespread disorder, violence and property damage.
In Southport, a father of two young children was sent to prison for two years and sixteen weeks after being caught with a knife close to a vigil for the three girls who were stabbed to death in Southport last week.
Jordan Davies, 32, was wearing a balaclava and told police he was on his way to a peaceful protest.
The riots have often been led by the far-right and have involved ordinary criminals, ministers have said.
But they have also sparked counter-protests, some of which have turned violent.
Two men were sentenced to a combined 50 months in prison after attacking people during such a counter-protest in Leeds last week.
Sameer Ali, 21, and Adnan Ghafoor, 31, attacked a group of rioters as far-right groups clashed with counter-protesters.
Ali was sentenced to 20 months in prison for affray. Ghafoor was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for affray, which includes a 12-month term for breaching a suspended sentence.
Jailing the pair, the Recorder of Leeds, Judge Guy Kearl, said: "This was a group attack involving in excess of 10 men in circumstances of a heightened state of public concern and anxiety to which each of you have contributed."
Several more people also face jail on Friday after admitting or being convicted of taking part in the riots.
Tyler Kay is due to appear at Northampton Crown Court charged with publishing written material which was threatening, abusive or insulting, intending thereby to stir up racial hatred.
Elsewhere, former Labour councillor Ricky Jones, 57, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court after being charged with one count of encouraging violent disorder after he was filmed addressing a crowd at a London demonstration on Wednesday evening.
Four people also face jail at Newcastle Crown Court following violent disorder in Sunderland.
In Southampton, Ryan Wheatley, 40, pleaded guilty to assault by beating of a police officer at a protest in the city on Wednesday.
Gareth Metcalfe, 44, admitted violent disorder in his home town of Southport on Tuesday, the day after three girls were killed in a fatal knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Teesside Crown Court will see three Middlesbrough rioters and one Darlington rioter face prison sentences and in Sheffield, Kenzie Roughley, 18, will be sentenced for violent disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham.
Suspected rioters will also be appearing in magistrates courts across the country, including in Liverpool, Llandudno, South Tyneside and Wirral.
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It comes amid fears that there could be more violence again this weekend - but police think they are better prepared now.
The chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said forces across the country are "definitely better prepared than last weekend" to deal with any disorder.
Meanwhile a senior police officer said that forces "feel better prepared" for disorder this weekend than a week ago.
Chief Constable Gavin Stephens told a media briefing: "Naturally, we've had days to plan and gear up the national response.
"We spoke about the scale of the national mobilisation, and that being as big as it's ever been, so definitely better prepared than last weekend.
"I think we also feel that the activity that's happened during the course of the week - in bringing really swift and strong justice - has helped.
"The strong message that communities sent on Wednesday evening that they don't tolerate hate and racism and violence, also, as potentially the start of a turning point in this whole thing. So, I think the mood is different as a consequence of all that."
