A violent thug who kicked out at police and filmed rioters attacking a hotel housing asylum seekers has been told he has “wrecked” his own life.
John Webster, 41, was told “there was no one else to blame” by His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson, who jailed him for the violent disorder at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday.
The court heard Webster, of Hague Avenue in Rawmarsh, Rotherham, had been caught on police body worn camera at the riot outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers on August 4 last year.
Prosecutor Joseph Bell told the court: “You’re familiar with the events that took place. Groups were acting out violently, with the police trying to deescalate the ongoing violence. He could be seen on body worn footage filming it on his mobile phone, refusing to listen to requests from officers to keep back and move away from the area.
“At that point, the defendant pushes and kicks out at the officers. There were two different areas of violence. In one of them, he was just standing to the front of the crowd as the violence continued around him. In the second, he was actively kicking at the officers.”
Footage of Webster’s involvement was played to the court.
Sheffield Crown Court
(Image: Katie Pugh)
It was said he has 21 previous convictions for 45 offences including affray, possession of a knife, battery, harassment, driving offences and breach of a restraining order. He was previously jailed for four years for making threats to kill.
Addressing the judge about that conviction, Webster told him over a video link from HMP Doncaster: “I would like to say it was just words. I didn’t physically do anything. It was third-party words. I am deeply sorry for what I said because I wasn’t thinking. It was on a course at the prison and I said a few words.”
Judge Richardson told him: “That’s what threats to kill is – it’s usually words. If you had done anything, it would have been a more serious charge.”
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Richard Adams, mitigating, said Webster had written a letter to the court. The judge said: “It’s said he has had a bad life and there was some relevant criminality and he has turned his life around and got a job. For reasons beyond all understanding, instead of sitting at home, watching TV or doing a shop or whatever else people do on a Saturday afternoon, he goes and participates in this.”
Mr Adams said: “It was curiosity. He didn’t go equipped with anything apart from a mobile phone. By this stage, there was some media broadcasts so it was a case of going to be nosy. Having been involved in the physical confrontation, it was a sufficient line of consciousness to make himself withdraw.
“He discusses how he spent with his friends from ten to 15 minutes speaking with a police sergeant and discussing the incident and thereafter leaving, anticipating that would be the end.”
The court heard that Webster, having been released from his last sentence homeless, has since got a job and a home. It was said he is his father’s carer as he has dementia. Mr Adams said: “When he ends his letter, he expresses his shame – and it is a deeply felt shame…”
Judge Richardson jailed Webster for three years and told him: “You were a prominent participant in the episodes of which you were involved. You have wrecked your life…There is no one else to blame, it is your responsibility. You have ruined your own life and it is a tragedy.”
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