- John Honey, 25, allegedly boasted that ‘he was famous and all over social media’
A rioter who looted stores including Greggs also attacked a BMW which was carrying terrified passengers and left its driver fearing for his life.
John Honey, 25, has been hauled before court for his role in disorder across Hull on August 3 – and pleaded guilty to the racially aggravated criminal damage of a BMW and damaging nine other cars.
He also admitted three charges of burglary after raiding Lush, O2 and Shoe Zone stores in the city, but had his sentencing delayed after it was claimed he asked a probation officer at HMP Hull ‘if he wanted his autograph’.
It is alleged that Honey boasted to the employee that he was ‘famous and all over social media’, as images of his looting spree went viral.
He was described in a letter written by the officer to a judge as ‘over-confident’ and someone who ‘presented with no remorse’.
John Honey (left), 25, attacked a BMW carrying frightened passengers in Hull on August 3 – leaving the driver fearing for his life
Honey’s St George’s Cross rugby shirt meant he was easy to identify during the disorder
John Honey pleaded guilty to the racially aggravated criminal damage of a BMW and damaging nine other cars as well as three charges of burglary, at Hull Crown Court
John Honey, 25, was pictured outside Greggs with stolen goods in Hull on August 3
Honey admitted three charges of burglary at the bath and shoe stores in the city of Hull
Footage of the BMW incident showed Honey pulling the passenger door open as a man inside tried to close it to protect himself.
Three Romanian occupants of the car got out with their hands raised in a gesture of surrender and fled to a nearby hotel, the court heard.
The driver said he feared for his life after more than 100 “angry” men attempted to drag him from the car, punched him in the head and attempted to strike him with a metal bar.
A worker at the garage said he had to lock himself inside the premises with the shutters down as a group of men attacked the business, damaging cars and setting one on fire.
His statement said he heard shouts of ‘Open the door, I’ll kill you’ before hearing explosions and seeing black smoke coming through the shutters.
The court heard that he escaped through a back exit and hid in a nearby garden for around 40 minutes.
The probation officer also detailed how Honey had described how he ‘went into Greggs to have a drink as the pepper spray made him thirsty’.
But the lout disputed the officer’s claims and said he wanted to be sentenced on the basis that he was ‘genuinely remorseful’.
John Honey was filmed leaving a Lush store in Hull loaded up with looted products on August 3
John Honey ‘played a prominent role’ in 12 hours of violence and unrest that gripped Hull on August 3, prosecutors told Hull Crown Court
Footage of the BMW incident showed Honey pulling the passenger door open as a man inside tried to close it to protect himself
Judge John Thackray KC, the Recorder of Hull, had hoped to be able to sentence Honey yesterday but the case was adjourned until Friday for further statements to be taken.
Footage shared on social media shows Honey entering various stores during the riots in Hull that left 11 police officers injured.
His St George’s Cross rugby shirt meant he was easy to identify as he took bath products from Lush and smashed up the shoe store with a chair.
Honey helped attack a car with three Romanian men in, targeted a garage leaving nine vehicles damaged and pushed bins at police lines.
He ‘played a prominent role’ in 12 hours of violence and unrest that gripped the city, prosecutors said.
Hull Crown Court heard that the disorder started when rioters gathered outside a hotel known to house asylum seekers and subjected police to a ‘barrage of verbal and physical threats’ while chanting racist slogans.
Honey was at the front of the group and was captured on footage throwing a missile at police and pushing a large wheelie bin at them.
Other footage played in court showed Honey looting the Lush store, taking one of their branded bags and walking around the shop filling it with products.
Honey was also seen outside a Lush store in Hull from which he stole products amid the riots
Judge John Thackray KC, the Recorder of Hull, had hoped to be able to sentence Honey (pictured) yesterday but the case was adjourned to Friday for further statements to be taken
Riot police are pictured standing guard outside a damaged O2 shop in Hull on August 3
It comes as even more people have been appearing after the violent disorder which spread across towns and cities nationwide last week.
John Kirtley, 26, of Sunderland, has been convicted after he kicked out at riot police and smashed trollies into officers.
Yesterday the thug admitted violent disorder in connection with his role in the protests, with dramatic footage showing Kirtley forcefully hurling trolleys at officers.
The rioter was caught on camera throwing bricks and a beer keg towards police officers who were protecting a mosque, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.
He also shouted ‘England till I die’ as he waved a flare.
A 13-year-old girl became the youngest known female rioter to be convicted following anti-immigration protests as a result of the Southport stabbings.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted violent disorder in Aldershot, outside a hotel two days after the attack in Merseyside.
Accompanied by her mother and step-father, the court heard she would be looking at two years in jail, if she were an adult.
John Kirtley, 26, was caught on camera violently pushing shopping trolleys at officers
Kirtley has been convicted of violent disorder at South Tyneside Magistrates court
Footage shows Kirtley kicking out at frontline officers during the chaos
In the youth court at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, Hants, the nervous-looking girl from Aldershot fidgeted in her chair as she was spoken to.
She spoke quietly and only did so to confirm her name, address and plead guilty to violent disorder.
The court heard the offence took place during a protest at Potters International Hotel, in Aldershot, on July 31.
The teenager admitted ‘using or threatening unlawful violence’ when present together with others which ‘would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his or her personal safety’.
Prosecutor Kerry Richardson told the court that if the girl had been an adult, she would be looking at two years in custody due to the ‘serious nature’ of events.
District Judge Tim Pattinson warned her she would be committing an offence if she did not attend the next court hearing and ordered her to ‘cooperate’ with probation. She will be sentenced on September 30.