Violent shoplifter Tasered by police after pulling fake gun

A violent shoplifter was Tasered by police after he pulled an imitation firearm from his trousers. Matthew Bryant was witnessed dragging his ex-partner around like a "rag doll" and punching her during an incident last December. When police were called, he pulled an imitation pistol from his trousers and legged it before being brought down with a Taser.

At a sentencing hearing at Truro Crown Court today (Thursday, October 17), it was heard how the 33-year-old assaulted his partner in the street in Bude, where her estranged daughter and partner lived, and the incident was so loud and disturbing that the daughter, her partner and their two-year-old child retreated indoors.

The couple could hear Bryant subject his ex-partner to an onslaught of vile insults before dragging her across the ground, pushing her to the floor and punching her in the face. The attack, albeit only lasting a few minutes, was so bad that Bryant's victim became almost numb to the blows and did not respond.

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Police were called to the incident on December 19, 2023 and a police officer attended the scene. Victoria Bastock, prosecuting, said the eye-witnesses described the attack as "horrible and disgusting to watch". She added: "Bryant tried to run from the police officer. He had a firearm in his waistband and threw it away but failed to stop. He was warned that he would be Tasered, but as he did not stop, the Taser was deployed."

She said that the firearm was later recovered and was found to be an imitation BB gun with some pellets inside and a spare ammunition clip was also found in Bryant's jeans pockets. His phone was retrieved and inspected by police who found a video showing Bryant brandishing the gun and shouting if "he wanted a war he can have one", which they later connected to a previous incident.

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Bryant, who was street-homeless at the time of the incident, was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm in public and assaulting his ex-partner. He was also charged with assaulting a staff member at the Lidl store the previous day after being confronted for shoplifting.

Ms Bastock told the court that Bryant was confronted by the shift manager of the store in Sandpiper Road on December 18 and the bag full of shoplifted items he was carrying was confiscated.

That made Bryant angry and he became so aggressive towards the member of staff that the Lidl shift manager locked himself in the staff room for his own protection for fear that Bryant would attack him. Bryant left the store but returned later that day and sought out the shift manager as he was restocking shelves.

He then started insulting him. Insults turned to physical violence as Bryant punched the Lidl staff member while goading him to respond. In a victim impact statement read out in court, the Lidl worker said he takes pride in his role and takes looking after his staff and customers seriously, adding: "I should not be subject to any violence. Shoplifting is a big problem."

He said shoplifting ends up driving the costs up for everyone using the store and should be addressed more robustly. Police were called, but by the time they attended, Bryant had left. He was eventually arrested and charged the next day following the assault on his ex-partner.

The court was told that Bryant, who pleaded guilty to the three charges, has 21 convictions for 39 offences including possession of a knife in 2016, attempted robbery in 2011 and affray in 2010. He also appeared before the courts this year in connection with another charge of common assault in May on a staff member in Morrisons in Bude as well as a number of shoplifting matters.

In mitigation, Ramsay Quaife said there had been no distress caused by the imitation firearm, and no one was ever at risk of harm or death from it. He added: "Just because a man has a BB gun in his pocket does not mean there is a risk of disorder. He ran from the police officer and was Tasered but he was not waving the gun around."

With regards to the attack on Bryant's ex-partner, Mr Quaife said: "It was a spontaneous act of violence that was short-lived."

Recorder Elisabeth Bussey-Jones said the attack on his partner had been most disturbing, adding: "Her daughter saw your partner being dragged about and shouted at in vile terms. You were being very loud in the street. You were seen to rip her jacket off her. You were pulling her around like she was just a rag doll. You hit her in the face, calling her a slag and a whore. It was a disturbing incident."

For the three offences, Bryant was sentenced to a total of 27 weeks in prison but as he has already served five months on remand he was released on licence for 12 months. A five-year restraining order was also imposed on him.

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