THREE men have had their jail terms extended for their part in a prison mutiny at HMP Long Lartin.
Jail staff came under attack during the revolt on September 24, 2019. The staff activated an alarm as prisoners threw pool balls at them, forcing wardens and others to withdraw from the wing.
The prisoners, who had improvised weapons and wore masks to hide their identities, took control of the wing and began smashing CCTV cameras, causing floods and built barricades before they set fire to the wing.
Several tannoy orders were issued to the prisoners, instructing them to return to their cells and warning that failure to comply constituted prison mutiny.
Highly-trained Tornado Teams were brought in from HM prisons from across the country, including HMP Birmingham, HMP Bristol, HMP Woodhill, HMP Bullingdon, HMP Featherstone, HMP Brinsford, HMP Oakwood and HMP Cardiff.
Tornado Teams are specialist prison control and restraint teams – once inside the prison, within ten minutes they regained control.
The wing had been so extensively damaged prisoners housed in the wing were transferred to other parts of the jail and to other prisons around the country.
It was estimated the value of the damaged caused was more than £110,000 which did not include the cost of deploying Tornado Teams and staff and resources from West Midlands Ambulance Service, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and West Mercia Police.
The three men, all of HMP Long Lartin, received the following:
Dean Cody, 38 was given 45 months to run consecutively to the 21 years he is already serving.
Derek Law, 40, has been given 40 months to run consecutively to the 19 years he is already serving.
And John Ward, 43, has been given 16 months to run concurrently to the 32 years he is already serving.
Three other men will be sentenced later in the year for their part in the mutiny.
Another man will face trail for the mutiny in September this year.
Det Ch Insp Mark Bellamy, who led the investigation, said: “I am pleased with the outcome today after a detailed and thorough investigation that lasted almost three years.
“We worked closely with HM Prison Service and together we hope this is a clear message that behaviour such as this will not be tolerated inside our prisons.
“Along with the cost by the damage caused, it is important to highlight the impact this incident had on the wider communities of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
“Teams from the fire service, the ambulance service and West Mercia Police were committed for two days during the mutiny, taking valuable services away from our local communities.”
