- John Honey, 25, allegedly boasted that ‘he was famous and all over social media’
A rioter who looted Lush, O2 and Shoe Zone while holding some Greggs pasties has had his sentencing delayed after it was claimed he asked a probation officer ‘if he wanted his autograph’.
It is alleged that John Honey, 25, boasted to the employee that he ‘is famous and all over social media’.
He was described in a letter written by the probationer officer to the judge as ‘over-confident’ who ‘presented with no remorse’.
It also detailed how Honey had told him that 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’.
Judge John Thackray KC, the Recorder of Hull, had hoped to be able to sentence Honey today after he admitted three charges of burglary at the bath and shoe stores in the city of Hull on August 3.
He also pleaded guilty to the racially aggravated criminal damage of a BMW and damaging nine other cars.
The case was adjourned until Friday for further statements to be taken.
John Honey, 25, pictured outside Greggs with stolen goods in Hull on August 3
Honey is seen outside a Lush store in Hull which he stole products from amid the riots
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.
Footage of the BMW incident showed him pulling the passenger door open as a man inside tried to close it to protect himself.
The 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.
Honey’s mugshot, who has had his sentencing delayed after it was claimed that he asked a probation officer ‘if he wanted his autograph’
Honey admitted three charges of burglary at the bath and shoe stores in the city of Hull
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.
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.
It comes as even more people are set to appear in court on Tuesday after the violent disorder last week.
John Kirtley, 26, of Sunderland, has been convicted after he kicked out at riot police and smashed trollies into officers.
Today 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 today 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
Today, 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.
Last night, the Crown Prosecution Service said there have now been 1,024 arrests and 575 people charged since the Southport stabbings. Jail sentences handed out yesterday alone totalled 24 years.