Blabber-mouthed burglar found guilty of attacking Coventry policeman with crowbar

[dutchman]

Francis Overend, from Liverpool, denied causing GBH but was convicted after he was heard muttering that he did it



A cornered burglar has been found guilty of attacking a Coventry policeman with a crowbar.

Francis Overend had denied wounding Pc Alex Healy with intent to evade arrest or to cause him grievous bodily harm.

But he was convicted after prosecutor Amy Jackson heard him mutter under his breath “and that’s when I hit him” as he was giving evidence.

The jury at Warwick Crown Court was unaware that Overend, aged 47, who is from Liverpool, but of no fixed address, was on licence at the time from a life sentence.

That had been imposed at Warrington Crown Court in 2002 after Overend and others had been found guilty of falsely imprisoning two police officers at gunpoint.

In the dock this time with Overend was Warren Thomas who had denied being involved in an attempted burglary, to which Overend had pleaded guilty.

But Thomas, aged 42, also of Liverpool, but who was living in Coventry at the time, was found guilty of that charge and of going equipped for burglary.

Overend told the jury: “When I saw the figure come round, because he was all in black I didn’t know he was a police officer until he was a couple of feet away, and I started walking with my hands up.”

But, dropping his voice so it could hardly be heard, he added: “... and that’s when I hit him.”

After the verdicts Recorder Charles Foster said he wanted a report to be prepared to assess “the issue of dangerousness” in relation to Overend – and both men were remanded in custody.

[rebbonk]

Sadly, the criminal classes often seem to lack common sense. If I ever commit a crime, I'll not tell anyone. - Unless I'm a banker of course, then nobody will care what I've done.

[dutchman]

This one is a Scouser though, he couldn't resist acting the comic in the witness box.

[Melisandre]

No one told him about gob stoppers

[dutchman]

Burglar who hit police officer over the head with a crowbar jailed for six years

A burglar who was found guilty of attacking a policeman with a crowbar after muttering a confession in court has been jailed for six years.

Francis Overend had denied wounding with intent to evade arrest or to cause him grievous bodily harm after being caught at the scene of an attempted burglary in Coventry.

He had been using a crowbar to try and force open the patio doors at a home in Yeomanry Walk, Stoke, when police arrived at the scene.

He swung the weapon at Pc Alex Healy causing a significant wound to the top of his head which needed stitches, as well as some smaller cuts.

After eventually being arrested and brought before the courts, Overend, 47, of Liverpool, was heard by the prosecutor to mutter “and that’s when I hit him”.

A jury at Warwick Crown Court found him guilty of the wounding charge, as well as attempted burglary and going equipped for burglary, earlier this year.

He was sentenced on Friday to five years in behind bars for wounding, plus one year for attempted burglary, and four months for going equipped to run concurrently.

The jury also found Overend’s co-defendant, Warren Thomas, guilty of attempted burglary and going equipped for burglary.

The 42-year-old, also from Liverpool but who was living in Coventry at the time, was handed an 18-month prison sentence.

During the trial it was also revealed that Overend committed the offence while on licence from a life sentence.

That had been imposed at Warrington Crown Court in 2002 after Overend and others had been found guilty of falsely imprisoning two police officers at gunpoint.

Thomas had also been on licence from a 17-year sentence imposed in 2004 for a series of armed bank robberies, for which another man was jailed for life.