Jail for man who spat at shop staff

A man who spat at a shop staff member and kicked a police officer in the leg has been jailed.

On the evening of 31 October, Joshua Osbourne, 18, entered Esso services in Eye, Peterborough, where he picked up three cases of beer and left without paying.

He returned a short while later after having dropped two of the cases and was confronted by shop staff. Osbourne, of Chapel Street, Luton, proceeded to shout racial abuse at one of staff members and spat at him.

Osbourne was arrested and later charged with theft from a shop, assault by beating, racially aggravated assault by beating, and assaulting an emergency worker by beating after he kicked an officer in the leg while being booked into custody.

He appeared at St Albans Magistrates’ Court on Monday (10 June), where he was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison and ordered to pay £100 in compensation to the staff member.

PC Jamie King, who investigated, said: “No one should ever feel scared or intimidated to come to work, and I am glad that the courts have recognised this and it has been reflected in the sentence.

“We will continue to work at tackling retail crime through arresting and putting those involved before the courts, but this can not be done without the help of businesses who report any incidents to us, regardless of the value.”