A man who assaulted three police officers has been banned from a Poundstretcher for two years.
Samuel Wells, 36, of Crown Road, appeared at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (April 25) where he pleaded guilty to assaulting Sgt Lewis Gilmore, Sgt Mark Pack and PC Jordan Hardy in an incident on October 16 last year.
He also admitted a charge of racially aggravated harassment.
Martin Ivory, for the Crown Prosecution Service, told the court that at 5pm on the day in question, Wells was in Poundstretcher on Regent Road where the store’s manager was suspicious of the defendant’s behaviour.
The men swore at each other and Wells left the store before being detained outside by two security officers.
Two police officers then arrived, while Wells was sitting on the ground and saying he had not done anything wrong.
“His behaviour deteriorated and he became aggressive,” Mr Ivory said.
The court heard that the incident drew a sizeable crow close to the Market Gates shopping centre.
“The whole incident was something of a spectacle, people filming it on their phones, almost like some kind of exhibition,” Mr Ivory said.
The solicitor said CCTV footage showed the defendant was “quite clearly suffering with difficulties with his mental health”.
He was banging his head on the ground and kicked out his feet at the officers.
The court heard that Wells was then put in a police van where he dug his fingernails into PC Hardy’s arm.
He was taken to Great Yarmouth police station, put in a cell and given a change of clothes.
The next day Julius Mercado gave the defendant a fresh pair of tracksuit pants but Wells used abusive language towards him, calling him Chinese even though Mr Mercado is of Filipino origin.
Alastair Taunton, mitigating, said that Wells, who suffers from mental health issues, had not been able to access medication at the time of the assaults.
“He is completely different now to what he was like in October,” Mr Taunton said.
The court heard that Wells is now taking medication, about to move into a council house and start a job.
Peter Candon, chairman of the magistrates, ordered Wells to pay £100 compensation to each of the three police officers and £120 to Mr Mercado.
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