Stockton inmate squirted urine at female prison officer

Daniel Best claimed he was recruited by two other inmates at Deerbolt Young Offenders’ Institution, near Barnard Castle, to carry out the attack, using a deodorant canister filled with orange juice and urine.

Durham Crown Court was told it was carried out, unexpectedly, near a lunch servery on B-Wing at the institution, on October 24, last year.

Best approached to collect his meal as the officer was overseeing in lunch duties at the servery.

Deborah Smithies, prosecuting, said the officer noticed Best had a black deodorant canister tucked into the top of his trousers.

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As he passed her, he pulled it out from his waist band and squirted her in the face, head and torso with the home-made liquid combination.

Miss Smithies said he was quickly apprehended but was described as being, “non-compliant”, dropping his weight to the floor, attempting to bite the fingers of officers trying to detain him, throwing a chair at the door of his cell as he shouted threats to staff members.

One of the officers restraining him told the defendant the officer he targeted would have to go back to her family fearing she may receive infection to which he said he did not care.

He made further derogatory remarks about the officer when spoken to, again, a week later.

Best said he had been told to carry out the attack with the incentive of a reward of 20 boxes of vapes, but weeks later, when interviewed by police, he told officers he invented that story and claimed he was acting “under duress”, following threats from two other prisoners.

But he did say sorry for what happened.

Miss Smithies told the court the officer in question said she felt humiliated and was worried that she could have caught something, but she has continued to carry out her duties and is now wary around the institution when she sees Best or other inmates carrying items like shower gel.

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The defendant, 20 at the time, but now 21, and formerly of Stockton, admitted causing or administering a noxious substance with intent to injure or aggrieve.

He was said to have eight previous convictions for 20 offences and was serving a 40-month sentence at the time, imposed at Teesside Crown Court in January last year for offences including robbery and knife carrying,

Kelleigh Lodge, for the defendant, said the defendant told her he did not receive any “payment” for his actions as he was placed into the segregation unit, as a result, and was unable to see the two other inmates he claimed incited him to carry out the attack.

Miss Lodge said Best was released from his sentence on licence last Friday and place in supported accommodation in Gateshead over the weekend, prior to his latest court appearance, and so has not had the chance to visit his family on Teesside.

She said he was “genuinely sorry” for his actions and told her he had written to the officer he targeted apologising, shortly after the incident.

Judge Jo Kidd said nine months into serving his sentence, “following a history of non-compliance and difficult behaviour” within Deerbolt, he chose to carry out the, “pre-meditated assault”.

She described it as, “thoroughly disgusting” and “disgraceful behaviour”, and the equivalent of using a weapon.

Judge Kidd told Best: “I note observations of two prison officers who describe you as, ‘a troublemaker, very disruptive and eminently dishonest’.

Imposing an 18-month prison sentence, she told Best it would have been a 27-month sentence had he not pleaded guilty.

Read next:

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               Thousands of prison staff and inmates attacked in North East prisons

               Prison officer attacked in HMP Frankland leaves him off work for a year

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