Two men have been jailed for their roles in violent disorder in Southampton following the murder of Henry Nowak, during which police were surrounded by a 'baying mob throwing projectiles'.
Sentences Handed Down
Daniel Frost, 44, from Southampton, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon – a dog lead with a metal carabiner that he had fashioned into a 'makeshift knuckleduster'. Reece Robinson, 21, of Havant, was jailed for two years for violent disorder after throwing two stones or small bricks during the protest in the Portswood area on June 2.
Judge's Remarks
Judge William Mousley KC, sitting at Southampton Crown Court, described the violence as a 'hate crime borne out of a hatred for police and in some part racist views'. He added: 'The impact on the community was profound, local residents were subjected to fear, distress and genuine sense of danger.'
Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley told the court that Frost was visible in police body-worn video wearing a camouflage face-covering as he threw chairs from a garden into the road in front of officers. She said the defendant then 'somewhat ostentatiously wraps the rope around his arm and the clip around his hand, forming what the observing officers feared to be a handmade knuckle duster'.
Frost's Behavior
Ms Linsley added that Frost repeatedly invited officers to take the dog lead from him, saying it would take four of them to remove it and that if they tried, 'these lot will f*** you right up, come and get it', referring to the crowd. After his arrest, Frost described the disorder as 'a big party' and called an interviewing officer 'a gaslighting bitch'. He had 25 previous convictions for 55 offences, including a six-year sentence for robbery and GBH, weapons offences, public order offences, and burglary offences.
Robinson's Involvement
Regarding Robinson, Ms Linsley said he was seen at the disorder on St Denys Road, topless with an orange high-vis vest around his neck obscuring his face. He bent down to pick up small stones or bricks on two occasions and threw them towards the police cordon. When arrested, Robinson, who has no previous convictions or cautions, told officers: 'I didn't really do much.'
