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Injunction Order for Manchester Spice user who threatened public (22 May 2017)

Date: 22/05/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Injunction Order for Manchester Spice user who threatened public

Manchester City Council has taken action against a Spice addict sleeping rough in the city who made threats against members of the public.

The council said that Priestley Cleworth, 24, of no fixed address, was rough sleeping, but persistently refused to engage with council homelessness services which tried to offer him support.

As well as threatening members of the public, Cleworth begged aggressively and took drugs in front of shops.

On Monday 15 May 2017, Cleworth appeared at Manchester Civil Justice Centre and was handed a two-year Injunction Order preventing him from entering Manchester city centre.

Cleworth was also given seven 14-day suspended sentences – one for each breach of a pre-existing interim Injunction. These will run concurrently if triggered by further breaches, meaning he would serve a minimum period of seven days in jail.

The court heard that Cleworth had been responsible for a string of incidents in which he had been abusive and aggressive to people in the city centre.

In January 2017, he was issued with a Community Protection Notice Warning excluding him from Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre.

The warning was issued following incidents involving Cleworth aggressively begging, openly smoking Spice and being verbally abusive to the public, shop staff and police community support officers in the area.

The warning was ignored by Cleworth and he was given a Community Protection Notice on 28 January 2017.

On the 13 May 2017, Cleworth was again verbally abusive, threatening the manager of the NCP car park at the Printworks. This incident led to Cleworth being given an Interim Injunction Order – extending the area he was prohibited from to include the entire city centre.

Cleworth defied the order seven times and was arrested in each instance.

In court, Cleworth admitted to all the breaches and did not contest the Interim Injunction Order.

He was given a two-year Injunction Order banning him from Manchester city centre and a 14-day suspended sentence for each breach.

After sentencing, Manchester City Council lead member for crime and community safety, Councillor Nigel Murphy, said:

“The council and partner organisations in the city's homeless charter are committed to providing homeless people in the city with the help and support they need to get off the streets and move forward in their lives – including treatment to deal with any substance misuse issues.

“But we cannot and will not tolerate individuals abusing and harassing members of the public while refusing all offers of support.

“Taking court action is a last resort – but in this case, we were left with little option but to do so to make Cleworth confront both his behaviour and his drug use and to protect the public.”


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