A drug-addicted thug smashed a glass bottle over a man's head before subjecting a police officer to a 'disgusting' attack.
Robert Stowar was already on bail for damaging his mother's home and unleashing a tirade of foul racist abuse at a police officer when he attacked the man in Byker, Newcastle, on August 19. He chased after the man, attacking him repeatedly from behind, before picking up a glass bottle and smashing it twice over his head, leaving a wound.
After he was arrested he used wet toilet paper to block the CCTV in his cell, before spitting in a police officer's face. He appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via video link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for the string of offences.
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The court heard Stowar, 24, who had been under a suspended sentence for another offence at the time, had turned up, unannounced, at his mother's home in Wallsend on August 17. When she asked him to leave, he climbed into her back garden and told her 'I'm going to smash your f****** windows', before breaking a gate.
He then fell asleep in a chair in her garden. And when she called 999, he subjected an officer who arrived on the scene, PC Smith, to a barrage of racist insults and a physical attack.
Kelly Sherif, prosecuting, said: "The defendant attempted to push past PC Smith and called him a f*****. What followed was a tirade of racial abuse with the defendant attempting to headbutt the officer and calling him a f****** little n*****. There were then further assaults to the officer which ended with the defendant saying to the officer 'go back to your own country'."
Just two days later Stowar, who had 10 previous convictions for 15 offences, attacked a man in Byker in retaliation for a robbery. Stowar had purchased £10 of spice from the victim and smoked some of it with him and a third man behind Byker Morrison's. This pair then robbed and injured Stowar, who gave chase.
The court heard police were called at around 2pm to a fight going on outside nearby Molineux Pharmacy. Stowar pushed his victim to the floor and kicked him repeatedly, then kicking him and punching him in the face after he had tried to walk away. He then threw off his rucksack in order to better be able to follow him, chasing him towards Heaton and catching up with him near a wall and some railings.
Ms Sherif said: "The defendant picks up a large glass bottle which is on the railings and strikes [the victim]. The second blow causes the bottle to smash."
Arrested for the attack, which left the man with a wound to his head, he blocked the CCTV camera in his cell and shouted abuse at staff, threatening to spit at the next person who came in. He followed through with his threat, spitting at a police officer who said it left her feeling "dirty and physically violated".
Sentencing Stoward, Judge Robert Spragg told him: "This was a disgusting offence, spitting in the face of a police officer, and you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself. It's absolutely disgusting for the officer to have been afraid of contracting a disease and you showed no remorse for what you did."
Stowar, of no fixed address, had admitted unlawful wounding and assault of an emergency worker in relation to the August 19 offences but denied a more serious charge. Following a trial last month he was found not guilty of the more serious offences and his guilty plea was accepted.
He had already pleaded guilty to the August 17 offences of racially aggravated common assault; a racially aggravated public order offence; criminal damage and threats of criminal damage. He was sentenced to a total of two years and 11 months for the set of crimes.
Mitigating on behalf of Stowar, who suffers from mental health issues, Tony Cornberg said he had been drug-free since August and was working to turn his life around from behind bars.
He said: "I'm pleased to report that Robert Stowar now, compared to the man back then... had been drug free-since August, that's a big issue for someone as addicted as he was: [the wounding] came about as a result of him buying drugs and then falling out with the person who sold them to him.
"That was then, in the last nine months or so he has found he has particular skills in health and safety and barbering. His is pursing certificates and he wants to continue this when he is released. This would be his first taste of employment."
Handing down the sentence, Judge Spragg told Stowar: "To your credit you've used your time usefully in custody... I hope this custodial term will represent a turning point for you."
