'Violent and abusive' thief jailed after coughing in the face of police officers and claiming he had coronavirus

Michael Hetherington was sentenced to 11 months behind bars after he coughed at police officers who attempted to arrest him at his home last month.

A court heard how the 33-year-old had been identified from CCTV images after two assaults in Gateshead.

On Sunday, February 16, he visited Sainsbury's on the Team Valley estate but was stopped by staff as he was a known shoplifter with a string of previous convictions.

He became aggressive and after being asked to calm down by a member of staff he grabbed a body-worn camera from around their neck and kicked it down the street.

Hetherington then fled the area but a month later attended the Aldi supermarket on Sunderland Road, Gateshead.

On being prevented from entering the shop he took a drink from a pop bottle before throwing its contents onto staff.

Police officers who identified Hetherington attended his home to arrest him.

After they forced entry to his address he threatened them with an ashtray and claimed to have coronavirus.

Two officers tackled him to the ground and placed him under arrest at which point he coughed in their faces.

He was later charged with two counts of assault of an emergency worker and two counts of common assault.

Hetherington appeared before South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Monday, April 27.

Following the case, Sergeant Elliott Richardson welcomed the strong sentence handed down by magistrates.

"Michael Hetherington is a well-known thief who has committed a string of offences across both Gateshead and Newcastle," he said.

"He was quickly identified as being responsible for two assaults on supermarket staff who had prevented him accessing their store.

"When we eventually tracked him down he was violent and verbally abusive but our officers stayed calm and placed him under arrest.

"That is despite Hetherington claiming to be infected with Covid-19 and I want to praise the professionalism those officers showed to bring him into custody.

"He is now behind bars and I want to thank the court for sending a strong message by sending him to jail. The streets are a safer place without him."

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