Leeds Iceland store shoplifter who spat at police and said 'I hope you get AIDS' is jailed for two years

Simon Carlin made the vile remark after carrying out the disgusting spitting attack in an Iceland store in Leeds.

Carlin also made repeated threatening phone calls to his former girlfriend in a separate set of offending.

Details of the offences were outlined during a hearing at Leeds Crown Court last week. Benjamin Bell, prosecuting, said the spitting incident happened at the Iceland Food Warehouse store at Kirkstall Bridge Shopping Park at 11.30am on November 8 this year.

The 37-year-old defendant took a bottle of wine from a shelf and opened it in the aisle.

He was approached by a security officer and told to go pay for the item at the till.

Carlin refused and said: "I'm not going to pay for it. I'm here to get p***** and dance."

He then picked up a vape and bottle of flavouring and threw it at the staff member.

Carlin refused to leave, picked up the vape and began puffing on it.

Police were called and three officers went to the store and found Carlin sitting on a stool in the alcohol aisle.

He refused to go with the officers and struggled as attempts were made to place him in handcuffs.

He kicked one of the officers then spat in the face of one of his colleagues and said: "I hope you get AIDS."

The officer had to go to hospital after the incident to have tests for possible infections.

The court heard Carlin also harassed his former partner on two separate occasions.

In July this year he rang her more than 50 times from a withheld number.

The woman blocked Carlin from all social media and changed her number but he targeted her again in October this year.

Mr Bell said Carlin called her more than 70 times and left 57 voicemail messages.

He appeared to be drunk as he left the messages and made threats.

In one of the messages he threatened to attack her brother with a hammer.

Carlin, of Morris Lane, Kirkstall, pleaded guilty to theft, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, harassment and harassment causing fear of violence.

He has 32 previous convictions for 77 offences.

Carlin has served a prison sentence in the past for assaulting a police officer.

Sentencing was adjourned at the previous hearing due to technical problems with accessing the court remotely.

Carlin's barrister, Shila Whitehead, said today that Carlin was sorry for what he had done.

The barrister asked that he be given credit for entering guilty pleas at an early stage.

Judge Rodney Jameson QC also made Carlin the subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting his former partner or going to her home in Belle Isle, Leeds.

After the case, Chief Inspector Andy Loftus of Leeds District Police, said “We welcome the custodial sentence given to Carlin today for his offences which included assaults on two police officers, one of whom was directly spat at.

“Carlin has been dealt with through the court system and sentenced within a few weeks of the offences occurring and we hope this jail sentence will stand as further proof that assaults on any emergency services staff will not be tolerated by the police or the courts and can easily result in a prison sentence.

“The force is committed to protecting its staff and other emergency workers and will always seek to prosecute those who think it is acceptable to attack those seeking to protect the public to the fullest extent of the law.”