Rioter caught with his tracksuit bottoms filled with vapes from a store he had just looted is jailed

By SHANNON MCGUIGAN 18:44 05 Nov 2024, updated 19:10 05 Nov 2024

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A rioter, who was caught red handed wearing tracksuit bottoms filled with as many vapes as possible from a looted store has been jailed.

Brian Gilby was part of a mob who attacked a police office on Waterloo Place, Sunderland as chaos ensued across the city on August 2, Newcastle Crown court heard.

Shortly after he turned his distinctive t-shirt inside out and headed to a vape shop that had already been raided that night.

The looter was seen by police as he walked away hoards of stock from the store and had to be threatened with taser before he could be apprehended.

The 27-year-old, of Hendon Burn Avenue, Sunderland, has today been jailed for three years and four months after he admitted riot, with judge Tim Gittins saying he had brought 'shame on the city'.

Prosecutor Michael Bunch told the court it was after dark when Gilby attended the police office on Waterloo Place in the northern city.

He said: 'CCTV shows the defendant using poles or similar to attack the building.

'He makes his way towards a vape shop and at some point during that journey decides to reverse his t-shirt.

'The distinctive pattern used to assist in his identity at Waterloo Place was no longer visible, him having turned the top inside out.

'The vape shop, it is accepted, had already been broken into by others when the defendant comes across it and entered, through a window.'

The court heard internal CCTV in the shop showed Gilby looking through a cabinet before he briefly left the shop returning to 'load up with a number of products'.

Mr Bunch added: 'Officers came across him at around 9pm and noticed he seemed to be carry a large number of items in a paper bag.

'He was asked to stop but carried on walking. He was asked for a second time and turned towards officers.

'They had to red dot him with tasers before he stopped and allowed himself to be arrested.'

Judge Tim Gittins told Gilby: 'You brought shame not just upon yourself but the city of Sunderland.'

The judge added: 'You had as many products as your tracksuit bottoms would hold, down each leg.'

Judge Gittins said he acknowledged Gilby is now deeply ashamed of his behaviour which has placed an extra burden on his partner to support their family.

He continued: 'You weren't thinking of them when you behaved in this disgraceful way on August 2.'

Nicholas Lane, defending, said Gilby had not planned to join the protest and had been out in the city bars that afternoon celebrating a friend's birthday.

Mr Lane added: 'On leaving the pubs, having consumed significantly more alcohol than he was used to, he literally stumbled upon what was going on in the city centre and made a decision, he now very much regrets, to join in.'

Mr Lane said Gilby has a good work record and has been taking courses in custody to help with his employment when he is released.

The court heard police officers, dogs and horses were pelted with missiles as violence flared that afternoon and areas were unsafe for ordinary members of the public.

Mr Bunch said: 'Officers were met with serious and sustained levels of violence. Officers were attacked with missiles and verbally abused.

'Four officers required hospital treatment and some are not fit enough to return to frontline duties.

'Police vehicles were targeted and damaged. Several patrol cars needed repairs.

'At times lone police on vehicle patrol found themselves targeted by offenders in the middle of the protest.

'Families of a number of officers were at home in fear for their loved ones out on duty, having witnessed the horror of what was unfolding on news and social media.'

The court heard the city's police hub was set on fire, business premises were smashed and shops were looted.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said in an impact statement it remains unclear how much damage was caused by the rioters but the cost of repairs could amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Police vehicles as well as community buildings and businesses also came under attack.

Ms Jardine said the violence was met with a £1.517m policing operation and the full psychological cost to officers involved is yet to be determined.

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