A 22-year old man from west Belfast who admitted throwing about 50 missiles including a metal bin at police vehicles parked at an interface has been jailed for his “appalling behaviour”.
Belfast Crown Court heard Sean Martin Hyland, from Violet Street, was essentially the main aggressor during the riot and the majority of an 100-strong crowd that gathered did not join in the attack on police, but rather stood back and watched him.
Hyland was handed a sentence of three years and four months. He was told 20 months of the sentence will be spent in prison, with the remaining 20 months spent on supervised licence when he is released from jail.
The incident occurred in the early hours of July 12th, 2014, on the Springfield Road, when Hyland was captured on police CCTV pelting police Landrovers parked at Lanark Way with about 50 missiles.
Crown prosecutor Simon Jenkins said these items included bottles, bricks, masonery, a large paving stone and a metal bin.
Telling Judge Brian Sherrard that Hyland was in the area for about an hour, Mr Jenkins said that one of the missiles damaged the CCTV camera which was being used by the PSNI to gather evidence. He was also seen trying to pull the wing mirror off one of the police vehicles.
The prosecutor described Hyland as “the main instigator of violence on the Springfield Road”, adding that Hyland tried to cover his face during the attack. He was arrested at the scene, and when he was interviewed later that day, he accepted he had thrown items at the police vehicles.
When Hyland was shown the footage in custody, he said he felt ashamed of his actions.
Mr Jenkins concluded by saying that while a few of the 100-strong crowd threw a couple of missiles “at various times” during the unrest, “it was Mr Hyland who was doing most the rioting himself”.
Defence solicitor Paul McCann confirmed this by telling the court the incident amounted to “100 people watching one person”.
Revealing that at the time his client was experiencing family difficulties, Mr McCann said Hyland was drunk and took his frustrations and “anger issues” out on police.
The solicitor also said that while Hyland has since admitted “perhaps there was a sectarian element” to his offending, he also pointed out the attack was not against loyalists, but that he saw police and vented his anger against them.
Mr McCann concluded by branding the incident as “highly unususal in that Mr Hyland was the riot.”
Passing sentence, Judge Sherrard said that while he accepted that Hyland was angry at his family circumstances at the time and had consumed up to 15 bottles of beer, there was no excuse for his “appalling behaviour” towards police.
The judge told Hyland that he had displayed a “serious use of violence”, adding “you were at the very heart of this and can truly be described as a ring leader.”