Suspended sentence for Ingoldmells man after 10 days of 'shame'

A 28-year-old Ingoldmells man who assaulted his own mother, a partially sighted neighbour and three police officers in three separate incidents over a ten day period, has been given a suspended prison sentence by magistrates in Boston.
News from the courtNews from the court
News from the court

Anthony David Robertson of Wilson's Close, admitted the assaults, as well as violent behaviour and damaging a door in his mother's house.

Prosecuting, Jim Clare said police were called at 6.50pm on May 31 after Robertson attacked the neighbour near his mother's home, where Robertson was living in a garden shed at the time.

He said Robertson 'dragged' the neighbour, Keith Henson, out of his house and 'battered' him, leaving him bleeding and in pain.

Mr Clare said that on June 7, he attacked his mother, Karen Robertson, in the early hours of the morning after he returned home and demanded money from her to pay a taxi driver waiting outside and then demanded she make him something to eat.

He said he hit her on the ear, damaged an internal door by kicking it and called her obscene names.

He said that when Robertson was arrested, he 'aggressively resisted' and assaulted the two police officers, one of them female, who had attended.

Mr Clare said the final incident was just two days later on June 9, when police were called to assist paramedics at 3.15pm because Robertson was under the influence of 'mamba' - a synthetic form of cannabis.

He said the officers found him to be aggressive, abusive and swearing and would not calm down so he was arrested for violent behaviour, at which he kicked one of the officers on the leg.

Mitigating, Roger Lowther said all the offences had been committed over a ten day period and there had been no further incidents.

He said Robertson was now living with a friend and was 'thoroughly ashamed' of what had happened with his mother.

He said Robertson was still drinking but had made 'significant progress' and had referred himself to Addaction as he knew he 'could not continue in this way'.

The magistrates said his offences had 'passed the custody threshold' and sentenced him to 16 weeks in prison, but suspended it for 18 months.

He was also ordered to observe 25 rehabilitation days, undergo six months of alcohol treatment and attend a 'thinking skills' programme.

They ordered him to pay £50 compensation to each of the three police officers he had assaulted, £107 to his mother for the damage to the door and £250 to his mother's neighbour, who he had attacked.

He was also ordered to pay £115 in charges and issued a restraining order preventing him from contacting his mother in any way for the next 18 months.