Aaron Cawley, an infamous football hooligan, yesterday admitted that it was him who shattered some television and fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) screens at a Cheltenham-located Ladbrokes retail betting shop on December 10th, 2016. The smashed-up screens’ worth was estimated to £20,000.
As explained by Prosecutor Charley Pattison to Gloucester crown court’s Judge Ian Lawrie QC, the gambling operator was not able to use its Cheltenham betting shop for gambling for three days apart from the costs of the damage. According to the prosecution, the Ladbrokes’ total losses were boosted to about £50,000. The judge, however, expressed his doubt that the defendant would be able to pay compensation for the damage he did. The prosecution also agreed that the two defendants, Aaron Cawley and John Dymock, would not be able to pay compensation.
The Racing Post reported that Cawley’s co-defendant, John Dymock, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, saying that he had taken part in the vandalism at Ladbrokes’ Cheltenham betting shop.
The legal representative of the two defendants, Alison Gurden, had initially informed the court that she intended to use a defence of “automatism”, which suggested that both men had been in a mental state that very much resembled a trance at the time when they smashed up the fixed-odds betting terminals and television screens at Ladbrokes’ Cheltenham outlet.
However, that defence was officially dropped at the last court hearing that took place in March 2018. Despite that, Cawley had continued to deny that he had anything to do with the incident and revealed his intentions to proceed to trial, until yesterday, when he changed his plea to guilty. According to the legal advisor of the defendants, Cawley changed his plea because he had suffered a lot of stress related to the pending trial, which resulted in deterioration of his mental health.
Both Defendants Have Numerous Previous Convictions
Ms. Gurden asked for a pre-sentence report for Cawley and confirmed that both defendants had been previously convicted, the majority of which are associated with gambling.
The Judge, on the other hand, also confirmed his belief that the two men are problem gamblers. The sentence is expected to be announced at 2:00 PM today, with the Judge warning Cawley that he was at risk of being jailed.
Aaron Cawley has been known to the wider public as a football hooligan for some years now. The 27-year-old man was imposed a lifetime ban from Leeds United in 2012, following an on-pitch assault that also resulted in a four-month imprisonment. In October 2012, he attacked the the goalkeeper of Sheffield Wednesday Chris Kirkland during the squad’s match with Leeds United.
Cawley also suffered a general UK football game ban for a period of six months in 2016.
At the time when he was taken into custody for the on-pitch assault, Cawley claimed that he did not even remember the incident sice he had been drunk.
- Author
Daniel Williams
