Man wept as judge turned down his plea for liberty
A Washington man who damaged his mother’s home and attacked a police officer sent to her rescue – then flagrantly breached his punishment order – has been jailed.
Dale Walmsley, 21, of Glebe Court, Sulgrave, was led from South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court in tears after a district judge refused his solicitor’s plea for him to retain his liberty.
District Judge Kathryn Meek said she had ‘no option’ but to impose an immediate jail sentence and locked him up for the breach.
The court heard he was given a 12-month community order on June 12, 2019, after pleading guilty to two charges of causing criminal damage to his parent’s property, also in Washington.
When confronted by a policeman, he floored him with a single punch though did not cause serious injury, an assault to which he also confessed his guilt.
Walmsley has now been jailed for 16 weeks for breaching his community order by missing two appointments with the Probation Service, on October 15 and November 22.
He had been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work – of which he had done 64 hours – and undertake 25 days of rehabilitation work, which had ended in limbo.
District Judge Kathryn Meek sentenced him to eight weeks for each criminal damage charge, to run concurrently, and eight weeks for the police officer assault, to run consecutively.
She told Walmsley she had taken into account the fact he had committed no further criminal offences in a year.
But she said his failure to engage with the demands of the court had been “persistent” and added: “I have no option but to impose an immediate custodial sentence.”
Tom Morgan, defending, said Wormsley had got into difficulties with complying with the community order due to not having a permanent abode – and asked the court to suspend the sentence.
He added: “He was living in a YMCA and then moved to live with a friend in Hexham.
“He tells me that the difficulties he had with his parents at that time have been resolved. It’s a stable relationship now.
“This stability may help him to comply in a way that he’s not been able to before.”
Wormsley admitted breaching the community order.