Man who armed hotel rioters with missiles jailed
A man who drove a pick-up truck laden with debris to a hotel housing asylum seekers and allowed rioters to use its load as missiles has been jailed.
Jake Turton parked a red Ford Ranger near the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, on 4 August, with panels of wood later hurled at police officers by others present.
Sheffield Crown Court heard the panels were also used as fuel for bin fires burning at the scene, with police and hotel workers "fearing for their lives" during the disorder.
Turton, 38, of Darfield, Barnsley, admitted violent disorder and was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
Asylum seekers and hotel staff were trapped in the upper floors of the hotel as rioters smashed windows and set fire to bins that were used to block doors at the building, the sentencing heard.
More than 50 police officers were injured, the court heard, with police horses and dogs also suffering injuries.
Although Turton did not physically attack anyone himself, Judge Sarah Wright said a custodial sentence was inevitable due to the seriousness of the "terrifying incident".
"You were part of a violent mob that descended, spreading hate, and you allowed people to arm themselves in major civil unrest which left police and the hotel workers fearing for their lives," the judge told Turton.
The defendant claimed he had driven to the riot to "have a nosy", the court heard, but text messages found on his phone discussed attending the scene and calling it "brill".
In a statement read to court, a senior police officer called the disorder the "worst violence he had ever faced" because of the "extreme malice" shown.
Prosecutor Alisha Kaye said: "You openly allowed people to take panels of wood from your truck, so you acted in joint enterprise with hostility to those seeking asylum."
Turton was cleared of a charge of taking a vehicle without consent.
Judge Wright told him: "This incident damaged the reputation of Rotherham and of South Yorkshire.
"It was a terrifying ordeal for the ordinary, decent citizens of the area, so your part in it has to be punished severely in order to protect the public."
More than 60 men have been jailed so far for their parts in the disorder outside the hotel.
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