Jymel Black: South Yorkshire inmate found with phone in cell avoids extra prison time

A South Yorkshire inmate has been handed another prison sentence, after he was caught using a mobile phone in his prison cell. But he will not serve any extra time behind bars. 

Jymel Black was serving a 64-month custodial sentence at HMP Lindholme in Doncaster when a mobile signal was detected in his 'single-occupancy cell,' prosecutor, Brian Outhwaite, told Sheffield Crown Court. 

Mr Outhwaite said a prison officer was subsequently dispatched to Black’s cell on April 4, 2023, and watching through a crack in the door, the officer observed him sitting on his bed with his phone in his hand, talking in 'hushed' tones. 

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A hearing held on February 20, 2024 was told that officers proceeded to enter, and search, Black’s cell, during which he was seen to 'throw something to the floor'. 

Mr Outhwaite said officers subsequently recovered a mobile phone, micro SD memory card along with a charging device. 

"The defendant was brought back to his cell, and was made aware of what officers had found but he made no reply," Mr Outhwaite said, adding that Black also made no comment during the subsequent police interview. 

Black, aged 29, took responsibility for his offending, however, when he entered a guilty plea to a charge of possessing a prohibited item in prison at an earlier hearing. 

Mr Outhwaite said Black, formerly of HMP Lindholme, had a criminal record spanning some 28 offences from eight convictions. 

Judge Graham Reeds KC noted that by 'coincidence' he was the judge who sentenced Black to the 64 months in custody he was serving at the time of the phone matter.

The nature of the offence Black was sentenced for was not disclosed in court, however. 

Judge Reeds said there was a 'problem with the case,' in that while he would normally pass a consecutive sentence for an inmate convicted of committing an offence while in prison for another matter; he could not pass one in Black’s case because the extended sentence he had previously imposed meant he would not be automatically released at the 'halfway point'. 

Consequently, the exact date of Black’s release will have to be decided through a parole board, or tribunal, hearing, and Judge Reeds said guidance suggests consecutive sentences can not be passed upon defendants whose release date is not yet known, forcing him to pass a concurrent one. 

Consecutive sentences mean a defendant has to serve them one after the other, while concurrent sentences are served at the same time, resulting in a shorter time behind bars. 

When asked, Black’s barrister, Eleanor Durdy, said Black believed he could be released as soon as June 28, 2024, but if that was incorrect, he could be locked up until March 2026. 

Judge Reeds said Black was suffering from an 'inherent' and 'serious' mental illness around the time his previous sentence was passed, resulting in concerns over his fitness to plead. 

The medication Black was prescribed for the condition during his time on remand helped to 'stabilise' him, however, the court heard. 

Passing sentence, Judge Reeds said he accepted that Black was not using the phone in prison to commit further offences, and was, instead, using it as a means of contacting loved ones 'outside of the prison system'. 

Taking his one-third reduction for guilty plea into consideration, Judge Reeds sentenced Black to 10 months' custody, to be served concurrently.