This was the lead story in our local free newspaper, the KM Extra, dated October 22, 2004.
Injury of crazed flat siege man
Police baton round hits him in groin
A CRAZED dog snatcher who hurled a bizarre array of weapons at police and threatened to shoot them with a golf club has been jailed.
Robert Griffin, 29, needed a testicle removed after an armed officer fired a rubber baton at him to end a siege at his Tunbridge Wells flat in May.
Last Friday, Maidstone Crown Court heard the night before, Griffin had taken one of three Staffordshire Bull Terriers owned by his cousin, Jane Vidler, from its kennel.
She went to his Sherwood Road home with two of his neighbours to ask for two-year-old Jessie back, but they were met with abuse.
When police arrived Griffin cried out he would shoot them before he poked the golf club through his net curtains and said: “I’ve got a shotgun.”
In the following three-hour stand-off Griffin threw an unlit petrol bomb and a dart at the armed officers, as well as household items including a pair of boots and a vacuum pipe.
When he came out of his flat, brandishing a pickaxe handle, the officer floored him with a baton round to the groin.
After being taken to Kent and Sussex Hospital where he was operated on, Griffin tried to escape, but was caught in a taxi by officers. Griffin admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, affray, common assault and threatening behaviour. David Tomlinson, defending, said Griffin was sorry. Describing him as “vulnerable”.
Recorder Michael Hopmeier jailed Griffin for two years for the imitation firearm offence, 15 months concurrent for affray, and three months concurrent for each offence of common assault and threatening behaviour, equalling a total sentence of 27 months.
My daughter, Sarah, had me creased up with her question, “Do you think it was one of his own testicles that was removed, or was it one they’d fired at him?”