Jailed, stalker who spat at police saying he had corona

ANGUISH OF OFFICERS LEFT TERRIFIED OF PASSING ON VIRUS TO THEIR CHILDREN

A STALKER who deliberately spat at police officers after claiming he had coronavirus has been jailed for two years.

Four officers had gone to arrest Samuel Konneh, aged 39.

He shouted at them from an upstairs window, saying he had coronavirus and coughing in an ‘exaggerated manner.’

Konneh refused to let officers in but, as they gained access, he spat at the officers with a mixture of saliva and blood.

One officer was hit in the face, while another felt blood go into his mouth.

The spit also connected with two other officers’ foreheads.

Konneh was arrested and taken to hospital where he was later found not to have the virus. One police officer was ‘absolutely terrified’ of potentially passing the virus to his two-year-old daughter, while another had to wait six weeks for a blood test.

Judge Richard Mansell QC told Konneh: “No officer should be subjected to a quite deliberate assault by spitting, especially when you had blood in your saliva.

“You had already falsely claimed to have the virus, and so quite deliberately you chose to spit at those officers to frighten them, and maybe deter them from entering your flat.

“This was a quite appalling piece of conduct.”

Manchester Crown Court heard that Konneh had been friends with the woman who he began to stalk.

They had known each other for about 10 years and began to see each other again last year after losing touch. Prosecutor Andrew Mackintosh said. Konneh became obsessed with her.

He started ‘pestering’ her, calling her on the phone, which led to her blocking his number.

But he would then use a withheld number, so she couldn’t block the calls.

Konneh pulled up alongside her in his car while she was out cycling.

Konneh, who smelled of alcohol, said: “What have you been saying to people about me?”

He then ‘bombarded’ her with over 100 missed calls.

He turned up at her home, banged on the door and shouted. She was so scared she barricaded her door using a ladder.

Days later, she woke up to find numerous missed calls, and later saw Konneh. She took her phone out, thinking she would film him to obtain evidence for the police.

Konneh said if he was arrested he ‘knew where she lived,’ and grabbed the phone.

The woman saw a friend, and asked him for help.

He offered her a lift in his car, but after she got in Konneh also got in the vehicle and punched the driver. Konneh told the man ‘he knew where he lived’ and said he would ‘kill him.’

Defending, Adam Brown said Konneh has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and that his mental illness had an impact on his behaviour.

He said Konneh, who grew up in Sierra Leone before arriving in the UK, may have ‘misinterpreted’ signals from the woman.

Mr Brown said Konneh had been drinking excessively and had stopped taking medication at the time, but accepted the defendant had behaved ‘appallingly’ towards the officers. He said Konneh’s mental health has improved since he was remanded in prison.

Konneh, of Easthorpe Close, Withington, pleaded guilty to stalking and of assaulting emergency workers. A restraining order was also imposed, preventing him from contacting the woman indefinitely.