A teenager caught brandishing a piece of skirting board in the street has been released from custody with an order to do community work.
Mohammed Marboosh, 18, was seen when police went to a reported disturbance on Egerton Street, central Middlesbrough at 2.20pm on September 21 last year.
He was carrying a 5ft piece of white wood from a skirting board, contorting his face and shouting at people further up the street, Teesside Crown Court heard.
He held the implement aggressively, gripping it “a little like a baseball bat” with his arms outstretched, said prosecutor David Crook today.
Mr Crook said: “He appeared to be transfixed in the people he was shouting at.
“He didn’t notice the police officers approaching him.
“Exactly what led up to that confrontation is unclear.”
When police ran at him, the startled suspect ran away then turned back and said: “You’ll have to run faster than that.”
He was caught and arrested 30 yards down the road. He put down the weapon and stopped being aggressive.
Marboosh, of Granville Road, Middlesbrough, admitted affray and having an offensive weapon.
He had a short criminal record but had been under a youth rehabilitation order passed by magistrates two months earlier for a house burglary.
Duncan McReddie, defending, said Marboosh was supported in court by his mother - the victim of one of his previous crimes.
She was keen to have him home and wanted to support and help him lead a law-abiding life.
Mr McReddie said Marboosh was “still a very young and immature man” who regretted his behaviour and intended to behave better in future.
He said Marboosh’s time remanded in custody had been a lesson to him, and a letter written by the defendant was “heavy with remorse”.
Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, said: “He says he doesn’t want to be labelled a criminal or a thug.
“In my judgment he’s demonstrated that he’s both.”
Marboosh had already served three-and-a-half months remanded in custody - the equivalent of a seven-month sentence.
The judge said he could not pass a longer sentence than this anyway and his hands were tied.
He told Marboosh: “It’s sufficient punishment in that respect.”
He passed an 18-month community order with supervision and 120 hours’ unpaid work.
He warned the teenager: “If you breach this order you’ll be back before me and my powers will not be limited.
“You know very well what I’ll have in mind if you come back before me - prison.”
No comments:
Post a Comment