Two brothers who looted a library community hub after it had been torched by rioters in Liverpool have today been jailed.
Adam Wharton, 28 and Ellis Wharton, 22, targeted the site on County Road, Walton, Liverpool, after it was set alight by rioters on Saturday August 3 as police officers came under attack.
Shocking CCTV shows the moment a group of brazen thugs set fire to library and later watched it go up in flames without remorse, leading to the damage of hundreds of books and a number of computers.
After the disturbance subsided at about 2am the next morning, Adam acted as lookout while his younger brother entered the Spellow Hub premises which housed a number of facilities including a community centre, a library and a food bank.
A large amount of donations, including from television food writer Nigella Lawson, have since poured in to help rebuild the community library after pictures of the aftermath showed its burnt interior.
It comes on the same day that Britain’s oldest rioter William Nelson Morgan, 69, was also jailed after taking to the streets, armed with a wooden cosh, and damaging businesses and buildings in Merseyside on Saturday.
Shocking CCTV shows the moment a group of brazen thugs set fire to library in Liverpool on Saturday August 3 as police officers came under attack
The group then watched it go up in flames without remorse, leading to the damage of hundreds of books and a number of computers
Adam Wharton (left), 28 and Ellis Wharton (right), 22, targeted the burnt-out site in County Road, Walton, Liverpool, where widespread public disorder took place on Saturday
Britain’s oldest rioter William Nelson Morgan, 69, was also jailed after taking to the streets, armed with a wooden cosh, and damaging businesses and buildings on Saturday
During the riots on Saturday, Pc Thomas Nielsen entered the Spellow Hub building and caught a masked Ellis Wharton carrying a rucksack and in the act of removing a large computer monitor, Liverpool Crown Court was told.
When challenged Ellis Wharton took up a ‘fighting stance’, the court heard, as the officer attempted to restrain him and the defendant responded by lashing out and striking him in the chest.
The officer suffered no significant injury and was aided by colleagues to detain the burglar who suffered a black eye while being subdued.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC said he had ‘no doubt’ that Adam Wharton, who has a string of convictions including multiple burglary offences, had involved and encouraged his younger brother, with no previous convictions, into committing the burglary.
He told Ellis Wharton: ‘Further I accept that but for the intervention of your brother you would not have committed the offence.’
Sentencing Adam Wharton to 20 months in jail and Ellis Wharton to 11 months in custody the judge said: ‘The Spellow Hub was a valuable local resource and its loss will be felt deeply by the community.
‘Although your offending amounts in law to the offence of burglary, your conduct is more commonly described as ‘looting’, a despicable crime in which the offender seeks to profit from the misery of others.’
Both men from Selwyn Street, Walton, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to burglary with intent to steal, while Ellis Wharton changed his plea on Thursday to admit assaulting an emergency worker.
Pictures inside the trashed Spellow Library show burnt books, broken furniture and glass surrounding one remaining computer
The burning of the library caused fury and upset across the nation as donations poured in to help rebuild the site
Rioters descended on County Road, Liverpool, on Saturday, causing major damage in what police said was ‘serious violent disorder’
Riot police positioned near the scene of the riot on County Road in Liverpool on Saturday
Ellis Wharton received an eight-month jail term for the burglary and a consecutive three-month sentence for the assault.
Prosecutor Chris Taylor said when Ellis Wharton was handcuffed outside the hub he told officers: ‘I’m sorry, I have been blackmailed by my brother to do it. I made a stupid decision.’
Adam Wharton was detained near to the library and was found in possession of a balaclava.
Brendan Carville, defending Ellis Wharton, said: ‘He is the idiot who went into the premises while his brother stood outside.
‘He is the one caught red-handed. He had never put a foot wrong in his life.
‘I submit he is a person who has been used by his brother. His remorse was instant.’
Barrister John Rowan told the court that since 2016 he had legally represented Adam Wharton who had amassed 16 convictions for 28 offences from May 2011 to March 2021 including two custodial sentences for residential burglaries.
He said: ‘He wants it known that he is deeply ashamed and disgusted with himself.
‘There can be no excuse or justification for his decision to take the opportunity to enter the streets of North Liverpool and become involved in the burglary of that library.
‘He was not involved in any of the violence that took place or any threats of violence, or any rioting that took place.
The Spellow Hub library was torched by violent masked protestors in another night of violence that has spread across the country
Rioters fill the streets of Liverpool after a nearby library was set alight
Rubble lies at the feet of police officers thrown by protesters in Liverpool on Saturday
Pictures of the aftermath show burnt wheelie bins outside Spellow Library
‘He told me in the cells this morning that he wishes he would have stayed at home and bitterly regrets his decision to go out into the chaos that was unfolding.
‘The defendant lives off County Road, as does his brother, a stone’s throw away from the library community hub.
‘He regrets inviting his brother to join him. He accepts he did it but he disputes placing any pressure on him or blackmailing him.
‘In his own words he said “my brother has his own mind”.’
Related Post
Mr Rowan pointed to his client’s mental health issues but said Adam Wharton would be ‘the first to admit that his continued abuse of cannabis is not helping’.
During the same night of violent disorder on Saturday Morgan, a semi-retired welder, was armed with a wooden cosh as he took to the streets with a group of about 100 thugs some of whom set fire to the community centre.
The Spellow Hub was only reopened last year after months of fundraising, and had been aimed at providing education and opportunities for people in what is one of the most deprived communities in the country.
It had been helping to get people into work and had doubled up as a foodbank.
Morgan, who had no previous convictions, was told by the judge that his ‘advancing years’ did not stop him playing an ‘active part’ as part of a group ‘running amok’.
When the rioters clashed with police, ‘you were seen at the front of the mob holding in your hand… a small truncheon’, the judge continued.
‘I am sure you had [the weapon] with you to cause injury if the opportunity should arise.’ He told the court how he arrested arrest ‘with such force’ that it took three officers to detain him.
CCTV shows a a vape shop being looted during the widespread public disorder on Saturday August 3 in Liverpool
‘I think it is very sad indeed to see someone of your age and character in the dock of a Crown Court,’ he added.
Body-worn footage showed the widower telling officers to get off him as they attempted to arrest him.
At one point he said ‘I’m f****** 70’ and an officer responded: ‘Well, why are you at a f****** riot?’
Defending both men, Paul Lewis said: ‘As they stand before you after a period of reflection, they both now recognise there is no grievance that can be properly addressed by mob rule.’
He said Morgan accepted he acted in drink and was ‘disinhibited by the presence of a large crowd’. He added: ‘Both men wish to profoundly apologise.’
Morgan pleaded guilty to violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and was jailed for two years and eight months.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel
Source link
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/daddy-yankee-mireddys-gonzalez-2-ed55bf87a4524a368ba3c9be674a278a.jpg "Daddy Yankee Claims Estranged Wife Withdrew Million, Files Injunction amid Split")
