Six more admit roles in riot
ANOTHER six people have pleaded guilty to taking part in a mass disturbance in a Swansea community which saw cars torched, missiles thrown and houses attacked.
The five men and an 18-year-old old woman pleaded guilty to a charge of rioting for their parts in the disorder in Mayhill last May which shook the city and made headlines around the UK and beyond. One of the defendants also pleaded guilty to arson.
Yesterday’s guilty pleas bring the number of people who have admitted taking part in the riot to 21, with the youngest being just 15 at the time of the disturbance.
Police were to eventually charge a total of 27 people in relation to the incident but an independent review into the way South Wales Police responded to the events of May 20 was sharply critical.
Seven men and one woman appeared in the dock of Swansea Crown Court yesterday and five of the defendants pleaded guilty to a single count of rioting. Those five were:
Joshua Mark Cullen, aged 31, of Teilo Crescent, Mayhill, Swansea;
Niamh Cullen, aged 18, of Caergynydd Road, Waunarlwydd, Swansea;
Christopher Marc Munslow, aged 22, of Gors Avenue, Townhill, Swansea;
Keiron Argent, aged 18, of Glyndwr Place, Townhill, Swansea;
Keiran Smith, aged 19, of Creidol Road, Mayhill, Swansea.
Mitchell Bryce Meredith, aged 19, of Margaret Street, Port Tennant, Swansea, pleaded guilty to rioting and to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Lewis James, aged 20, of Trawler Road, Swansea Marina, and Connor William Beddows, aged 22, of Merlin Crescent, Townhill, Swansea, both pleaded not guilty to riot.
Earlier this week eight men and three teenage boys pleaded guilty to riot for their part in the disorder.
Last week three teens, the youngest being just 15 at the time of the riot, were sentenced at Swansea Youth Court with sentencing adjourned on a fourth for medical reports.
A total of four people have pleaded not guilty to a charge of being involved in the rioting and they will stand trial in August.
The sentencing of those who have pleaded guilty will take place at the end of that trial.
Violence erupted around Waun Wen Road in Mayhill in the evening of May 20 following a vigil for 19-yearold Ethan Powell who had died the previous day. A subsequent inquest into the teenager’s death ruled it was drug-related.
A report into the riot criticised the response of South Wales Police which refused two requests for a public order unit to be deployed to the area.
The report said residents were left cowering and “unprotected”, and it said there had been “significant failings” in how the police dealt with the situation.
In response to the report South Wales Police chief constable Jeremy Vaughan apologised to those affected by the rioting, saying: “We failed to take action quickly enough on the night and for that I am truly sorry.”