Homeless man jailed for throwing bottles of alcohol at Tesco staff because he wanted to return to prison

A homeless man who caused terrified supermarket staff to “run for their lives” as he hurled bottles of alcohol towards them because he wanted to go back to prison has got his wish after he was jailed for two years.

During the incident at Tesco in Bramford Road, Ipswich, Steven Povey picked up around seven bottles and threw them at two male shop assistants, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The two men, who received minor injuries, fled to a rear office while Povey took a packet of cigarettes from behind the counter and smoked one while waiting for police to arrest him.

Povey, 31, of no fixed address, admitted affray and burglary on March 28 and was jailed for two years.

Sentencing him, Judge Martyn Levett described the incident, which lasted 10 minutes, as “frightening”.

Matthew Carey, prosecuting, said Povey had only been released from a previous prison term eight days earlier and had committed the offences on March 28 because he wanted to return to custody.

He said Povey entered the shop at 9.20pm carrying a black holdall which he dropped to the floor. He picked up bottles which he began throwing at full force towards staff in what he described as an “unprovoked and distressing” attack.

He threw numerous bottles of alcohol at least one of which hit workers, while others smashed and showered them with glass.

One female customer ran out of the store when Povey began hurling the missiles.

At an earlier hearing, an officer was quoted as saying that staff, one of whom suffered a cut to his hand and the other was hit in the chest, had “run for their lives” to a rear office.

Lynne Shirley, for Povey, said her client was released from prison on March 20 and by March 28 he found himself homeless, cold, depressed, hungry and “at his wits end”.

“He wanted to be arrested because he couldn’t cope,” Miss Shirley said. “He does feel remorseful. He is very sorry the two staff members were scared.”

Raggamuffin wrote:Awwww, he'll probably be out in a year, and then he'll have to commit a more serious crime.

It's shocking what retail staff have to put up with just because some idiot wants to go to prison.

feelthelove wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Awwww, he'll probably be out in a year, and then he'll have to commit a more serious crime.

It's shocking what retail staff have to put up with just because some idiot wants to go to prison.

Hi Raggamuffin, haven't seen you in a while.  Hope you are well

I'm expecting some interesting views on this one..........

darknessss wrote:clearly he has no place in society...is good for nothing and always will be a problem.....
moreover he attacks people without provocation.....


need i remind you of what happens to dogs .........

Nemesis wrote:Two things are wrong here.

His actions.

That he is homeless.

What needs to be understood is how he has been made homeless.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Nemesis wrote:Two things are wrong here.

His actions.

That he is homeless.

What needs to be understood is how he has been made homeless.

According to the article, he'd come out of prison on 20th March, and by 28th March he was homeless, and he committed the crime on that day. He can't have found it that tough in prison the first time if he wanted to go back there a week later.

Nemesis wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

According to the article, he'd come out of prison on 20th March, and by 28th March he was homeless, and he committed the crime on that day. He can't have found it that tough in prison the first time if he wanted to go back there a week later.

I think you are missing the point.

How are we to get people back into society if on release a short time later they are homeless?

I am not exusing his crime, but there is a problem here if people feel they need to commit a crime to get off the streets.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Nemesis wrote:


I think you are missing the point.

How are we to get people back into society if on release a short time later they are homeless?

I am not exusing his crime, but there is a problem here if people feel they need to commit a crime to get off the streets.

It doesn't say where he went on release from prison. Perhaps he got chucked out of wherever he was staying. He seems to have made no effort to do anything about it, except commit another crime the same day.

Nemesis wrote:Two things are wrong here.

His actions.

he's an arse

That he is homeless.

What needs to be understood is how he has been made homeless.

he came out of prison...what do you expect...he is homeless because he committed a crime...and got locked up for it ....Its kinda what you expect to happen if you do "jailworthy " things

darknessss wrote:

Nemesis wrote:Two things are wrong here.

His actions.

he's an arse

That he is homeless.

What needs to be understood is how he has been made homeless.

he came out of prison...what do you expect...he is homeless because he committed a crime...and got locked up for it ....Its kinda what you expect to happen if you do "jailworthy " things

darknessss wrote:awww...he's had such a hard life....

pfffft

make even ruddy harder now...

he should be doing 5yrs hard labour now....

Nemesis wrote:

darknessss wrote:awww...he's had such a hard life....

pfffft

make even ruddy harder now...

he should be doing 5yrs hard labour now....

Okay, if he really was such a scumbag, why not do the job properly and make sure you harm someone if that is your intent and actually glass them in the face?
His intent was to get arrested and ensure he went to jail for violence, but he could have really have hurt someone if he really had wanted to, so you have to ask then why did he not if he was a scumbag?
See the difference here?

darknessss wrote:oh and yes I do see the argument you are trying to make...
but if YOUR point is valid then he is actually a weakling...a sort of psychological runt....

he cant cope "out side" of some sort of institution

so we do what?? throw money at him and his problem???

Nemesis wrote:

darknessss wrote:oh and yes I do see the argument you are trying to make...
but if YOUR point is valid then he is actually a weakling...a sort of psychological runt....

he cant cope "out side" of some sort of institution

so we do what?? throw money at him and his problem???

So Homeless people are runts and should cope with being homeless.
you can stop, with the invented lie right now .....I never said that at all

I said HE was a psychological runt....
MOST homeless people dont commit crime...not in the first place to MAKE THEMSELVES homeless
or being homeless commit crimes to use te prison service as a free hotel...


You do realise people with criminal records are discriminated against.

yes...and?
Are you for discrimination or trying to help them back into society?

being as how its virtually pointless I must ask whats the point....

the levels of recedivism are abysmally high

so clearly the "rehab route" doesnt work...at all

Nemesis wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

It doesn't say where he went on release from prison. Perhaps he got chucked out of wherever he was staying. He seems to have made no effort to do anything about it, except commit another crime the same day.

It is an impossible story to make many views on because we do not know if he was homeless before his first time in jail let alone what led to him being homeless here.
To be honest I have looked for more info on this and there is only what has been presented.

Irn Bru wrote:Some help for his alcoholism and depression might help but I think overall there are underlying problems.

Burglary
Theft
Propositioning women in the street
Racism
Violence
Assault

A BOTTLE-wielding thug who attacked a teenager in an Ipswich street has been jailed for a year.

Previous to this incident

Violent Steven Povey lost control when he saw his young victim come out of a takeaway shop in the Whitehouse area of Ipswich and clobbered him over the head with a Smirnoff Ice bottle.

http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/bottle_wielding_thug_is_jailed_1_115467

AN Ipswich man hurled racist abuse at two white women who told him they had black husbands before punching one in the face, a court heard.

Unemployed Steven Povey had asked the women if they would like to accompany him back to his home but they said no, telling him they were married and had children.

http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/racist_revealed_in_court_1_107906

Steven Povey, 23, of Old Foundry Road, Ipswich, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Friday, April 13.

Michael Stephenson, prosecuting, said: “The group caught up with him and the satellite navigation system fell to the ground. Police were called and he was arrested.

“He said he had been drinking and decided to go cycling to Claydon. On his way back he spotted the van with the satellite navigation system inside.

http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/have_a_go_hero_nabs_thief_1_113907

Lot of work there to get him back into society. How can he ever hope to get a job with that record.

Nemesis wrote:Well that certainly filled in plenty of blanks in this story and can safetly say he clearly has little intent to rehabilitate.
Score one for Darkness on judging right. first time.

Raggamuffin wrote:

feelthelove wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Awwww, he'll probably be out in a year, and then he'll have to commit a more serious crime.

It's shocking what retail staff have to put up with just because some idiot wants to go to prison.

Hi Raggamuffin, haven't seen you in a while.  Hope you are well

I'm expecting some interesting views on this one..........

Yes thanks. Hope you're well too.

The trouble with committing a crime in order to get sent to prison is that other people get hurt. Can you imagine doing your job and then suddenly someone starts throwing bottles at you? Someone could have been killed if one had hit them on the head, or they could have been badly scarred by broken glass.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

Yes thanks. Hope you're well too.

The trouble with committing a crime in order to get sent to prison is that other people get hurt. Can you imagine doing your job and then suddenly someone starts throwing bottles at you? Someone could have been killed if one had hit them on the head, or they could have been badly scarred by broken glass.

Stories like this are so sad, we've had Americans who committed crimes in order to go to prison where they'd be entitled to medical treatment. Somehow we think it's inhumane to deny health care to prisoners, but not to anybody else.

I agree that it's not good he could have hurt someone in order to do this, though. Got me to thinking, if you wanted to be sent to prison, what would be the most humane crime?

I think I'd smash up a Wal-Mart or something, after it was closed. Nobody gets hurt, and the company has insurance against such things ...

Not that I'd ever want to -- the record for longest time surviving in the Texas prison system is 27 years.