A PROLIFIC offender assaulted two police officers after they saw he had crashed his car.

Robert Smith (35), who appeared at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday via video link from HMP Northumberland, is already in custody due to a standard recall in relation to an eight-year sentence he was given in December 2015 for supplying Class A drugs.
He was this week sentenced to 12 weeks in jail, to run concurrently.

Smith, of Garden Street, Carlisle, admitted two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker, against a police constable and a police sergeant, as well as obstructing/resisting a constable in execution of duty.

At an earlier hearing on January 5, Smith pleaded not guilty to driving a vehicle without due care and attention, but changed his plea to guilty this week.

Prosecutor Rebecca Slade said an off-duty police officer was travelling westbound on the A69 at around 11:45pm on January 3 when she saw Smith’s Land Rover Discovery facing a near side verge.

The off-duty police officer had said the weather was cold and icy, and she’d previously seen the Land Rover Discovery brake heavily, then pull away at speed, Miss Slade told the court.

PC Nathan Crain, informed of a road traffic collision, saw Smith on his mobile climbing out the front side, before becoming agitated and then a “scuffle” took place, Miss Slade said.

Miss Slade said officers then deployed a taser on Smith.

The prosecutor said Smith had 26 previous convictions for 56 offences.

Wajid Khalil, defending, told the court Smith has spent significant periods in custody.

Smith committed his first offence aged 12, and received a detention order for the first time when he was 14.

Mr Khalil said both Smith’s parents had a heroin dependency and split when Smith was 12 years old.

“He had no stability,” Mr Khalil said, adding Smith was subjected to the sight of violence from age 12.

Mr Khalil said Smith was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December and had a seizure on the roadside during the course of the scuffle.

In a letter which Smith wrote on January 5 which Mr Khalil read to the court, Smith said he was “extremely sorry and said his actions and aggression were “disgusting”.

“It is not like me to behave like that,” the letter said, adding that he had had the “worst week of my life” after receiving his MRI results.

“This past week since the terrible news I have been struggling massively,” Smith had written, the court heard.

Mr Khalil told the court Smith had a full-time job and a 12-year-old daughter with his partner of 16 years.

“Our daughter absolutely adores him,” Smith’s partner said in a note read out by Mr Khalil. “We have struggled without him.”

Mr Khalil said prior to this case, Smith had been “out of trouble” for 19 months.

“It seems he was just about turning a corner,” he said.

Magistrates sentenced Smith to 12 weeks custody for each assault, to run concurrently. Smith’s driving licence was endorsed with five penalty points and he was ordered to pay each officer £75 compensation.