Elarna Garner-Abbey, Philip Wood: Pregnant woman jailed after hurling missiles at police in Manvers riot

Elarna Garner-Abbey, aged 19, appeared via video link for sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court today (June 19) after having previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

She was charged alongside her ex-partner Philip Wood, 22, who also pleaded guilty.

The pair attended the riot together and had been living together in a tent near Meadowhall at the time.

In footage previously shown to the same court, Wood and Garner-Abbey could both be seen involving themselves in the disorder that broke out on Manvers Way, a short distance from the Holiday Inn Express, which was at the centre of the riot.

The video footage shown to the court, during a hearing held on June 16, was from behind the police line and showed a fire burning in between officers and where the majority of protesters were located.

Describing the roles of each of the defendants, prosecutor, Joseph Bell said Wood - who was wearing a face covering for much of the incident - could be seen stoking a fire in the middle of the road and repeatedly throwing missiles towards the police line, some of which were at ‘close range’.

He was also seen lighting a phone charger on fire and swinging it around his head.

Garner-Abbey meanwhile - who was 18 at the time - pushed a blue pole into the fire and threw missiles at police.

Since the incident, Wood and Garner-Abbey have ended their relationship.

Garner-Abbey is now in a relationship with another man and has grown close with his family, Rebecca Tanner, defending, told the court today.

Only last week Garner-Abbey discovered that she was pregnant, and Ms Tanner explained that the couple were beginning to plan what their future would look like.

She went on to say that both Garner-Abbey’s own family, and her new partner’s family, were loving and supportive and that her brief stint in custody - after her sentencing was adjourned on Monday, June 16 - had been ‘eye opening’ for her.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, described the case as extremely complicated, as he balanced issues relating to Garner-Abbey’s age, maturity, mental health issues and pregnancy.

Both families gathered in the public gallery today for the sentencing hearing.

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The judge ruled that the severity of Garner-Abbey’s actions meant that a suspended sentence was not an option.

However, the mitigating factors, and the fact that she pleaded guilty at the first possible opportunity, played a role in the sentence handed down.

Judge Richardson said: “I want to make one thing very clear, simply because a woman is pregnant doesn’t mean she can avoid punishment and avoid prison.

“However, it is an important facet to have in mind when passing sentence, it’s a facet to be considered and is within the relevant sentencing guidelines.

“Elarna Garner-Abbey, you were very foolish getting involved with a man like Wood and living in a tent in Meadowhall.

“You were equally foolish to get involved in this.

“Your role was not peripheral, and the serious aspect is that fire was involved.

“You hurled missiles at officers doing their duty, that calls for punishment."

Garner-Abbey was sentenced to 18 months in a youth detention centre.

Family burst into tears upon the announcement and quickly left the gallery.

Immediately after her sentencing, Wood was sentenced via video-link.

The court heard that Wood’s IQ places him within the ‘moderate learning disability’ range.

Wood has had a difficult life, been unemployed since he was 18 and struggles to understand consequences, the court heard.

He is also a care leaver who in the words of Judge Richardson was ‘passed from pillar to post’ when he was younger.

Like Garner-Abbey, Wood’s early guilty plea played a role in the judge’s sentence. He was jailed for two years.

Judge Richardson said: “You were not on the periphery, you were right at the centre of events.

“You threw missiles repeatedly and at very close range.

“Garden plant pots, doubtlessly taken from people’s homes nearby, were handed from one to another in order to break up and hurl at police officers.

“You now have expressed remorse for what you did because you understand the seriousness of it.”

Both people were also issued with criminal behaviour orders.