Glamour to slammer
Model sisters jailed for looting Argos
By JOHN O'CONNOR
Ex-Flying Squad commander
THE difficulty of dealing with those arrested in the aftermath of the riots is the vast number of different individuals involved.
At the moment there is little or no fear of law enforcement because for many youngsters it just doesn't exist, either in the courts or with the police.
It is common sense that sentences for rioting and looting need to be far tougher - with a minimum of five years to make it a proper deterrent.
Zero tolerance in America involves both the velvet glove and iron fist - and it works.
Feckless, useless criminals are taken out of their communities by proper sentencing.
Three strikes and you're out means just that - after two jail terms you go down for life.
We now have a proper opportunity to reform our justice system.Let's hope our politicians seize it.
By NICK PARKER
Published: 13 Aug 2011
TWO model sisters wept yesterday as they were caged for six months for ransacking an Argos store.
Shonola Smith and her sister Alicia joined 100 rioters who stormed the Croydon shop on Monday, tearing apart display cases and looting the stock.
The mob included their pal Donness Bissessar, 21 - who joined them again in court, and also got six months.
Bright student Shonola, 22, was about to restart a university course next month.
The girls' stunned families clutched each others' hands as District Judge Robert Hunter imposed the sentences, and the girls were led to the cells at Croydon Magistrates Court.
He told the defendants: "The tragedy is that you are all of previous good character, each of you well-educated. You have jobs. You have plans for future education. You have shown remorse and pleaded guilty. However, I can't ignore the context in which these offences were committed."
He added he hoped the harsh sentence would "serve as a deterrent to others".
Magistrates worked round the clock yesterday to deliver swift justice to hordes of captured hooligans.
Ministry of Justice officials said last night 2,033 arrests had been made and 1,043 people had already been charged.
A boy of 13 who went into riot-hit Manchester with a HAMMER strapped to his leg was hauled before the city's magistrates court.
He was given a nine-month referral order after admitting possessing an offensive weapon without lawful excuse.
District Judge Khalid Qureshi said: "If you had been 15, you would be going straight to the cells."
Three university students were jailed for a YEAR each for "scavenging" £4,500-worth of electrical gear and clothes during the London chaos.
Law student Akintunde Amosu, 19, business and marketing student Xavier Techie-Afful, also 19, and his younger brother Javier, 18, were told at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court they had "blighted their lives by a moment of madness".
A girl of 14 was bailed after her mum admitted she had not seen her for TWO WEEKS.
The teen is accused of stealing clothes, CDs and perfume in Tottenham, North London. Neither of her parents were in London's City of Westminster Magistrates Court to take her home and frantic calls were made to track them down.
Dozens were hauled before the courts accused of trying to rally the mobs online. Jamie Counsell, 24, allegedly used Facebook to organise an event in Cardiff called: "Rioting, looting, robbing and burgling." He was remanded in custody for a week by magistrates.
Insurance salesman Aidan Curwen, 18, was accused at Northampton Magistrates' Court of using a BlackBerry to urge 140 people to arm themselves with "bats and weapons".
A girl of 11 got a police warning for involvement with a Facebook page inviting 400 to gather at a Poundland store in Plymouth, Devon.
Jobless Amed Pelle, 18, faces jail after he admitted using Facebook to encourage the "killing of a million police officers" in Nottingham.
TWO men aged 24 and 26 were arrested yesterday over the murder of Trevor Ellis, 26 - shot in the head in his car in Croydon, South London, during Monday's trouble.
OS EX-DESCOLONIZADORES APLICARAM-SE PARA GARANTIREM A NOSSA COLONIZAÇÃO.A RAPAZIADA INDÍGENA SÓ TEM QUE IR DANDO A SUA FACE...
DEPOIS NÓS É QUE SOMOS XENÓFOBOS...
No comments:
Post a Comment