Paul Williams, 45, was jailed for two years and two months on Friday after pleading guilty to one count of violent disorder in connection with the Sunderland riots.
The court heard he had entered the city centre to collect a takeaway, but ended up at the “forefront” of an “orgy of mindless destruction, violence and disorder”.
His defence lawyer said he had no political opinions around immigration and was “entirely unaware of the basis of what started this”.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Williams threw metal fencing and a can of beer at police, stripped off his shirt and ran at the line of riot shields.
It makes you wonder what goes on in some people’s heads (or doesn’t go on).
To be fair to him (and I’m not feeling fair), that photo is of the previously mentioned rioter who was done for inciting violence, which totally wouldn’t believe looking at his picture.
The headline makes it sound much worse. Sounds like a creative workaround for employees not being able to receive gifts or something. The “competition” was clearly made for that exact person to win it.
That’s a shame for the family, especially the wife that may well have seen him dead earlier in the evening but thought it was something normal that he was doing.
That said, it’s remarkable that the only person that got hurt by his ability to control vehicle was himself, looking at the list of blunders he had made with other vehicles.
I’ve heard a few stories like this now. It’s a really healthy way for a community to respond, and really shows the feeling of the larger segment of society.
It is worse still. Gifting such a lucrative market to the criminal underground, funnels a lot of money to organized crime. Wouldn’t surprise if they are influencing to keep the status quo.
Honestly I have seval ideas that I would love to pursue but we don’t have any suitable vacant buildings. Almost everything is bought up for assisted/elderly care and left unoccupied. It definitely feels like a tax scam somewhere.
He was a really nice guy it turned out, and also innocent, and also a pretty good oil painter. He had a whole series of paintings of the incident, including a couple where he is depicted arresting himself. In a classic interview where he is having a laugh about the event and showing some of the pictures he ends the section by cooking a succulent Chinese meal for the interviewer.
There was also a wine released called get your hand off my pinot. The world feels a little smaller without him.
bbc.co.uk
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