Drunk who carried out random street attacks in Leeds after downing bottle of vodka and crate of lager 'may have been spiked'

Ryan Armitagte was jailed for nine months over his drunken rampage in Meanwood June 24 this year.

A barrister representing Armitage told Leeds Crown Court the 27-year-old believed he may have had his drink spiked as he was used to consuming that amount of alcohol.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said Armitage was staying at a hostel when he carried out the offences.

Mr Sharp said Armitage drank a bottle of vodka and a crate of lager before getting into a fight with another resident at the hostel.

He then went out into the street at 11.30pm and was seen wandering around picking fights with people.

A local resident approached Armitage to ask what he was doing and he became aggressive and shouted abuse.

The resident managed to push Armitage away and the defendant walked off.

He then jumped in front of an off-duty police officer's car.

Armitage continued to be aggressive and confrontational and jumped in front of another car, causing the driver to stop.

Police were called and Armitage became violent to two officers who tried to restrain him.

He spat and kicked out, causing injuries to the knee of a female officer.

She suffered bruising and scratches during the incident.

The defendant was eventually detained and continued to be aggressive when he was taken to Elland Road police station.

Armitage, of Meanwood Road, Meanwood, pleaded guilty to two offences of common assault and assaulting an emergency worker.

He has 73 previous convictions for sex offences, fraud, possessing offensive weapons and breaching court orders.

She said: "Not having somewhere to live has been the root cause of his offences."

Ms Addy said Armitage had been intimidated by other residents at the hostel on the night of the offending.

The barrister said Armitage suspects his drink had been spiked at the hostel but he is unable to prove it.

Ms Addy said: "He would not have expected himself to behave in this way given the way he was consuming a alcohol at the time."

Jailing Armitage, Judge Robin Mairs said: "I can have no confidence that any community sentence will work."