Two men have been jailed for their involvement in violent disorder in Southampton that followed the murder of Henry Nowak. The incident saw police officers surrounded by a baying mob throwing projectiles.
Sentences handed down
Father-of-two Daniel Frost, 44, from Southampton, received a sentence of two years and four months for violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon. The weapon was 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 disorder as a hate crime. He stated: "This violence was a hate crime borne out of a hatred for police and in some part racist views." He added that the impact on the community was profound, with local residents subjected to fear, distress, and a genuine sense of danger.
Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley told the court that Frost was seen on police body-worn video wearing a camouflage face-covering as he threw chairs from a garden into the road in front of officers. He then wrapped a rope around his arm and a clip around his hand, forming what officers feared was a handmade knuckle duster. When challenged, Frost claimed it was a dog lead but repeatedly invited officers to take it from him, saying it would take four of them to remove it and that the crowd would attack them if they tried.
After his arrest, Frost described the disorder as "a big party" and called one of the interviewing police officers "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.
Robinson 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, he told officers: "I didn't really do much." He had no previous convictions or cautions.
Frost and Robinson are the third and fourth men to be jailed following the sentencing of Leon O'Leary, 41, from Basingstoke, and Connor Bishop, 24, of Southampton, on Tuesday. O'Leary received three years and one month for violent disorder, resisting a police officer, and possession of an offensive weapon—a samurai sword in his bedroom. Bishop was jailed for two years and eight months for violent disorder.
