A MAN who smeared excrement over the wall of a cell at Coventry police station while he was still subject to a suspended prison term has escaped being jailed.
Instead, a judge at Warwick Crown Court fined James Brown £90 – exactly the same amount it cost the police to have the cell cleaned.
Brown (34) of Bliss Close, Tile Hill, had admitted causing damage, failing to surrender to bail and committing a further offence while subject to a suspended sentence.
Prosecutor Ian Speed said that on December 14 Brown was in a cell at Coventry Central police station after being arrested over a matter which did not lead to him being charged.
“While there, he decided he was going to damage the cell by urinating and smearing faeces across the wall.”
As a result, the police had to call in a cleaning firm to clean the cell at a cost of £90.
After being charged with causing the damage, Brown was granted bail, and a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to turn up at Coventry magistrates’ court in January.
Mr Speed added that at the time Brown was subject to a suspended sentence imposed at the crown court in March 2017 for possessing a knife in a public place.
And fining Brown, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano told him: “You would normally be in the magistrates’ court for this.
“The only reason you are here is because you were in breach of a suspended sentence which has now expired.”
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