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05
Sept 2023
Harrogate man jailed for wielding knife and spitting at police officer
A Harrogate man who spat at a police officer after being arrested for wielding a knife in the town centre has been jailed for 18 months.
Matthew Liam Tuck, 28, took out the blade during an argument with two men outside a pizza shop on Station Parade in the early hours of July 29.
He then walked towards one of the men while “waving and brandishing” what was thought to be a kitchen knife, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Jade Bucklow said another man intervened and Tuck was taken to ground. But then Tuck got back to his feet and, still brandishing the knife, lunged at one of the men, although he didn’t try to strike him with the blade.
Tuck then walked around the street holding the knife aloft and a hooded top, said Ms Bucklow.
She added:
Tuck was brought in for questioning but refused to answer police questions. He was kept in custody overnight.
The following day, he pressed the buzzer in his cell to get the attention of custody staff and an officer spoke to him through the cell door shutter as Tuck was becoming “agitated” and started hitting himself in the head. He then spat in the face of the officer through the cell hatch.
Ms Buckle said:
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The officer was taken to hospital for blood tests for Hepatitis B. The prosecution said it was “unclear” whether this was a purely precautionary measure.
Tuck, of Bower Street, was charged with carrying a knife and assaulting an emergency worker. He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence via video link today after being remanded in custody.
Ms Buckley said the victim of the spitting incident said she felt “devastated, disgusted and dirty” after Tuck spat in her face.
126 previous offences
Tuck, a sometime builder, had 49 previous convictions for 126 offences including violence. In November last year, he received a 16-week jail sentence for assaulting a police officer.
In that incident, Tuck, who was on a police “wanted” list, became “aggressive and verbally abusive” as officers approached him. He resisted arrest and kneed one of the officers in the crotch.
Defence barrister John Batchelor said Tuck’s recollection of the incidents in July were “sketchy” as he had taken Diazepam.
He said that Tuck “lost his head” after his partner told him she had been assaulted. However, Tuck was “in no fit state” to aim his ire at the men he targeted outside the pizza parlour.
Recorder Mr T. Clayson said Tuck’s attack on the men in the street was born of “nothing” and described his spitting at the officer as “very offensive”.
He told Tuck:
He added, however, that the officer’s seeking treatment at hospital appeared to be preventative rather than due to an actual diagnosis of Hepatitis B.
The judge described Tuck’s criminal record as “appalling”, adding that it was “extremely sad to see a young man now leaving his formative years who (is) still getting into the sort of trouble which is pretty inexcusable for someone who is 28”.
Mr Clayson said the only way Took was going to turn his life around and stay out of trouble was by renouncing drugs and getting a job.
Tuck will serve half of the 18-month jail sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.
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