West Bromwich man jailed for burgling house then damaging police cell
A burglar has been jailed for nearly three years after targeting a home while a family was asleep inside.
And when Mark Mansell was arrested two days later he then smeared a police cell with his own excrement before spitting at a police officer.
Mansell burgled the house in Garrett Street, West Bromwich on July 18 while at least three people were inside, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Mr Richard McConaghy, prosecuting, said because they were sleeping the family was not disturbed but came down the next morning to find their property had been targeted.
Mansell took a wallet with cards, a licence and coins inside as well as a mobile phone battery pack.
He also made off with a Samsung tablet and charger – as well as using car keys to open a car which he searched and then re-locked, before returning the keys inside.
After being identified as the culprit, Mansell was arrested on July 20 and taken to Oldbury custody block.
Mr McConaghy said: "Initially he had to be restrained in his cell, then he said he would calm down and appeared to do so and the officers left him in the cell.
"He was brought some food at that stage but within one to three minutes he started throwing the food all over the cell and smeared it on the CCTV camera and viewing hatch.
"He also cut himself with his plastic spoon on the chest and wrist."
Mansell, 25, then defecated in the corner of his cell and 'smeared his own excrement on the CCTV camera and walls of the cell'.
Then he wrote the word s*** in the viewing hatch and urinated against the cell door, Mr McConaghy added.
After being moved to another cell, Mansell spat at a police constable – with his phlegm landing on the officer's show and lower trousers.
Mr Oliver Grimwood, defending, said: "He has a job as a cleaner...and his partner is pregnant with their first child who is due in October.
"In his mind he saw an opportunity to provide extra money, with his first child coming up."
Mansell has since apologised to the police for what he did, Mr Grimwood added.
Mansell, of Old Meeting Street, West Bromwich, admitted burglary, two counts of criminal damage and assaulting a PC at an earlier hearing.
Judge Amjad Nawaz jailed him for a total of 34 months.
He said: "What you engaged in at the police station was thoroughly disgusting."
Mansell was handed 32 months for the burglary, two months concurrent for two criminal damage charges and two months consecutive for assaulting a PC.
