A judge branded a dad-of-three's actions as "selfish" after he tore up books supplied by police to alleviate the boredom of a prison cell. Gareth Wood, 30, of Turner Lane, Boughton, ended up in custody after police were called out to him being abusive and causing members of the public distress.
When police took hold of Wood at Mansfield Bus Station on September 10 at 4pm, he tensed up and threatened violence towards a man. Abbie Edwards, representing Wood at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Monday (September 12), said: "He tells me, prior to police arriving, he did have a verbal altercation with a male who was aggressive towards him also".
Wood had been in custody since his arrest. He pleaded guilty to using threatening words or behaviour at Mansfield Bus Station, and destroying reading books belonging to Nottinghamshire Police.
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District Judge Leo Pyle gave him full credit for his guilty pleas. He pointed out Wood was on a suspended prison sentence at the time for assaulting an emergency worker. The judge extended the length of the suspended term from 12 months to 18 months, but not the sentence itself.
Of the criminal damage, he said Wood had made the "situation worse" by ripping up books supplied by police to alleviate the boredom of being in a police cell. And he said it was "selfish" as the books could not be used by others.
A fine of £40 was imposed for the threatening behaviour offence and a fine of £80 for the criminal damage. Additionally, prosecution costs and a victim surcharge must be paid. Miss Edwards asked that Wood be given credit for his guilty pleas.
"What may be his saving grace is currently he is on post-sentence supervision and he has attended 21 appointments out of 25. There have been no unacceptable absences.
"The new offences are of a minor nature. It is aggravated by the fact he is in breach of a suspended sentence order. He lives with his long-term partner. They have been in a relationship for 11 years and have three children." She also said her client was in receipt of Universal Credit and has been putting up marquees cash-in-hand in various areas of the country.
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