A thug called a border force officer a "Rochdale paedo" after being caught with 14,000 cigarettes in his luggage.
Michael Legros was returning from a holiday in Bali with his partner Heidi Mullis and their young children on May 24 2020 when he was pulled across by border force officers at Manchester Airport. Legros, 32, began aggressively pacing up and down with his fists clenched while his suitcases were searched.
Legros' suitcase was opened and 14,000 cigarettes were found. Liverpool Crown Court today, May 26, heard Legros turned to the border force officers and called them "scruffy c****", before he added: "You only earn £20,000 a year - just keep the cigarettes".
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Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, said Legros told one of the officers, who was Asian, that he looked like a "Rochdale paedo". The officer, who was not named in court, was heard to be physically shaken by the racial abuse. The court heard the officer had been racially abused before in the job, but this "really shook him".
Legros, whose address was given as Woodbridge Avenue, Halewood, was found guilty of the racially aggravated offence by a jury in Manchester on November 11. His sentencing was delayed until today due to a number of other offences that Ms Baqri listed in court.
Legros was involved in a commotion on Lark Lane, Aigburth, on July 31 2020 where he threw a plastic bottle at someone during a fight that saw a woman assaulted. The dad pleaded guilty under Section 4 of the Public Order Act, referred to as threatening behaviour or provoking violence, in December last year.
But in a case described by Honour Judge Brian Cummings as "far more serious", the court also heard how Legros was involved in an incident at the Wellington Pub, Hale on May 15 last year. Ms Baqri said he was caught on CCTV brandishing a blade and threatening members of the public.
A jury was shown two videos of Legros, one at 10.30pm and another around two-and-a-half hours later, which showed Legros' partner trying to calm him in the pub garden before violence ensued. Legros was found guilty by a Liverpool Crown Court jury last week of affray and threatening with a bladed article.
Ms Baqri told the court Legros had 30 offences dating back to 2007. Legros has previously served time in prison for a number of offences including production of cannabis and handling stolen goods.
The court heard when he committed the two crimes in 2020 he was on bail for a driving offence which he was later jailed for in November of that year. Legros was given a 16-month custodial sentence which Judge Cummings noted would have expired "either shortly before or after the incident at the Wellington Pub".
In regard to the incident at Manchester Airport, Charles Lander, defending, told the court "tensions were frayed" and the defendant overreacted "out of frustration" after a 25-hour flight. Mr Lander said his client regretted calling the officer a paedophile but it was "one phrase alone" - and although there was a lot of bad language there was no violence.
Mr Lander also told the court how Legros didn't engage in serious violence during the Lark Lane incident - and the violence at the Wellington Pub escalated due to a man, known in court as Padded Jacket Man, taking off his jacket and smashing a bottle.
Mr Lander said Legros had been working with his dad to improve his behaviour in recent months. Part of a letter from Legros' dad was read to the court where he acknowledged his son had put his family "through the mill", and that he couldn't face coming to court to see his son sentenced.
The court heard the defendant had registered for an accountancy course, but felt like the "sword of Damocles" had been hanging over him while the two different trials were ongoing. Mr Lander also said Legros' partner was a nurse - and she would have to pay for childcare to look after their children while at work. Mr Lander added Legros was now on medication for ADHD - something he was waiting to be tested for when he committed the crimes.
Judge Cummings told Legros, who was supported by his partner who wore NHS scrubs, that due to the totality of crime only an immediate custodial sentence would be suitable. He took into account Legros' relevant previous offences and repeated criminality while on bail.
He told Legros, who wore a white shirt and floral tie, that he had also taken into account his young family, but they would lose their dad because of his actions. Judge Cummings notably branded the Manchester Airport incident as a "disgraceful offence".
Judge Cummings sentenced Legros to three years in prison. Legros will serve half the sentence before being allowed out on licence.
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