A dad was found with a metal crowbar stuffed down his trousers after breaking into a nursery.
Adam Clarey, 40 appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to burglary, three counts of assault and one count of criminal damage, all relating to the same incident. A court heard that on November 9, police were called to a nursery in St Helens after a report at around 2am.
Jo Maxwell, prosecuting, said officers arrived to see the nursery gate was ajar, and “several doors of the outbuildings appeared to have been forcibly opened”. They announced their presence, at which point Clarey dropped what he was holding and tried to escape the premises.
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Clarey, who was under the influence of drugs at the time, was detained and held down, before officers found a metal crowbar down his trousers. He shouted “I’ve not burgled nowhere and I don’t have an offensive weapon” as officers tried to calm him.
During detention at the scene, Clarey was un-cooperative and spat at Constable Knowles who had been involved in detaining him. Ms Maxwell said: “The spit unfortunately ended up in the mouth of the constable, he then swallowed it.”
The convicted burglar was also found with £200, a screwdriver, a torch and a padlock taken from one of the sheds surrounding the nursery. Officers managed to get Clarey into the caged area in the back of a police van, but he became increasingly aggressive and whilst the car was moving, kicked repeatedly at the plexi glass with such force that it broke.
The police vehicle pulled over and another officer, Constable Alcock, went into the back of the van to check on Clarey who then spat at him.
He was eventually taken to St Anne Street custody suite, and as officers were leaving his cell, he spat at Detention Officer Sharp, and the spittle landed on the clothing on his leg. Clarey had not managed to gain entry into the main nursery in his burglary attempt, but did cause minimal damage to some of the outhouses surrounding the nursery, including at the entryway to two of the outbuildings.
When interviewed, Clarey, of Royal Grove, St Helens, told officers he had been "framed" as "somebody told him there were items worth stealing” at the location, such as drugs and firearms. He did steal a roll of lead and admitted an intention to sell it on, as well as an air rifle he found in one of the sheds.
The father of twins has 34 previous convictions for 64 offences, and his first burglary took place in 1998 followed by a string of robberies since. Victim impact statements from the officers who were spat on by Clarey were read out in court by the prosecution.
Detention Officer Sharp wrote in his statement that he “felt dirty all day”, and it brought back memories to a previous assault which left him unable to return to work for an extended period of time. He said it took around two weeks for uneasy feelings to alleviate, but he was relieved when he found out the spit did not contain anything contagious.
Thomas Challinor, defending, said his client has long-term substance abuse issues but that in the last three years, he has been almost completely abstinent except for on this occasion and one other. He said: “Mr Clarey has shown a significant amount of remorse and considerable insight into the impact of his offending.”
“He is anxious to make clear that the behaviour that he engaged in that night was not behaviour that he would have engaged in had he not been under the influence of substances.
“When he is sober he is a completely different person, he is articulate and engaging, his problem is drugs. “If the cycle of addiction is broken the offending will stop.”
In sentencing, Judge Recorder Eric Lamb said: “During the search you spat at one of the officers who was seeking to restrain you, that was officer Knowles and the spittle went into his mouth. “Also in your pockets was evidence of burglaries carried out at the buildings.
“In interview you said you were framed, in fact somebody else had set you up to go there giving you false information.” He said Clarey acted in an “aggressive, non-cooperative fashion” and was stuck in an “unhappy cycle of addiction”.
Judge Lamb added: “The relationship with your family cannot sustain you going in and out of prison”. Clarey was sentenced to six months imprisonment for burglary with intent, but has served 30 days imprisonment on a qualifying curfew so this was reduced to five months.
For the three counts of assault, he was charged to two months each to be served consecutively, plus one month imprisonment concurrent for the criminal damage. However this was suspended for 18 months, and a community order for the same amount of time was implemented.
Clarey was ordered to undertake 30 rehabilitation days, and an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement for 18 months. Forfeiture and destruction of the items at the scene was also ordered, and the £200 found in his possession must be given towards the prosecution costs which totalled £350.
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