'Last chance' teen locked up after a catalogue of crime (From Basingstoke Gazette)

'Last chance' teen locked up after a catalogue of crime

1:00pm Thursday 11th October 2012 in News By Helen Morton

A TEENAGER has been locked up after he was involved in a series of offences while subject to a suspended prison sentence for possession of Class A drugs.

Jack Whiting, 19, pleaded guilty to charges of assault by beating, two charges of battery, assault and attempted theft when he appeared at Winchester Crown Court.

The court heard Whiting, a father-of-one, was made subject to a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 24-months, in March 2011 after he was found with nine wraps of heroin and 19 wraps of cocaine.

But despite the suspended sentence, Whiting continued to offend throughout the last year.

On the evening of December 31 last year, Whiting and two friends were at Carpenter’s Down, Popley, Basingstoke, and began verbally abusing 17-year-old Grant Knight. Grant left and later returned to the scene with his older brother Aaron.

Whiting, of Warwick Road, Winklebury, Basingstoke, asked for beer from Aaron, which he was given, and then continued to ask for more bottles.

Prosecuting, Mr Roderick Blaine said: “Grant said to his brother ‘let’s go’. The defendant’s response was to turn round and headbutt him (Grant) in the face.”

He said when the pair did turn to walk away, Whiting then hit Grant over his head with a bottle of beer. Aaron was hit by pieces of glass and Grant, who had a hood on, suffered a nose bleed, bruising to his nose and soreness on the back of his head.

While on bail for the two offences of battery, Whiting was spotted by the store manager of McColls, in Buckland Parade, on May 2, acting suspiciously and putting bars of chocolate in his pockets.

When confronted by the manager, he returned the chocolate but grabbed hold of the manager’s arms and pushed him away.

On September 4, having again been bailed for the assault and attempted theft, Whiting came across Perry Braebury in the middle of the day, an acquaintance who he thought had been involved in stealing his sister’s bicycle.

After a verbal exchange, Mr Braebury was hit in the face and then struck again after denying any knowledge of the theft.

Sentencing Whiting, Judge Susan Evans QC said: “You were given a chance by this court with a suspended sentence. You should have been on a knife edge.”

She invoked the suspended sentence but reduced it to eight months. For the two charges of battery relating to the Knight brothers, she imposed a two-month sentence and one-month sentence, to run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the suspended sentence.

For the attempted theft and assault on the store manager, Whiting received a one-month sentence for each offence, running concurrently with each other but consecutively to the suspended sentence.

For the assault by beating on Perry Braebury, Whiting was sentenced to two months consecutively to the suspended sentence, making a total sentence of 13 months in a young offenders Institution.