Nine on trial after UK riots
Seven men and two youths went on trial today in connection with riots last year during which a police station was petrol-bombed.
The defendants, from Nottingham, are Lance Francis, 25, of no fixed abode; Callum Joseph Powell, 20, of Top Valley; Shaundrie Riccardo Robinson, 22, of Hyson Green; Gregory Hensley Coleman, 20, of Broxtowe; Roxwell Yeboah, 34, of Radford; Bobby Muers, 18, of St Anns, and Ricardo Cotteral, 23, of Basford along with two youths, aged 16 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
They are all charged in connection with the disorder that took place in Nottingham last August.
The nine are also charged with violent disorder.
Francis and the 17-year-old youth are also charged with arson with intent to endanger life and arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered in connection with the damage caused to Canning
Circus police station during the disorder.
Francis faces another charge of intending to pervert the course of justice.
Eight other men have already accepted their part in the disturbances on August 9 last year, the jury at Nottingham Crown Court was told.
Nottingham was one of a number of cities hit by unrest and violence during the disturbances last summer.
The nine defendants are accused of rioting on the night of August 9.
During the disorder, Canning Circus Police Station was firebombed while three police officers and three community support officers worked inside. None of the six were injured.
Opening the prosecution case at Nottingham Crown Court, Sarah Knight told the jury the nine defendants were part of a group of around 30 men involved in the disturbances.
Ms Knight told the court members of the group were dressed in dark clothing with hoodies up over their heads and bandanas drawn across their faces, despite it being a “warm and balmy” night.
She said it was a quieter night than normal in the city with many people choosing to stay at home due to the unrest across the country.
But the nine defendants were not intent on staying at home and instead set out to riot, Ms Knight told the court.
She said the “organised” group “moved like a pack”, smashing up parked cars and slashing tyres near the police station, leaving a “trail of devastation in their wake”.
Many of the group were armed with baseball bats, bricks, rocks and knives, while others carried large bottles with rags stuffed into the tops.
These were petrol bombs ready to be lit and hurled at the police station, Ms Knight said.
Residents described how they saw the mob attacking parked cars and smashing windscreens.
A motorist said he feared he would be attacked as they jumped on the bonnet of his Toyota MR2 and hit his windscreen as he sat in the car on Moorgate Street.
The jury was shown video footage taken by a member of the public which showed the mob move towards the police station and firebombs being thrown at it. The front canopy could be seen to be alight.
Petrol bombs were also thrown at passing cars and a bus, the court heard.
As the mob retreated, they could be heard cheering each other and giving each other “high fives”, Ms Knight said.
