A man, who spat at a member of rail staff at Gloucester railway station before running from police, has been jailed for 12 months.
Isaac Quinlan, 23, was trying to board a train on October 15, 2015 when the staff member asked to see his ticket. Quinlan did not show one and when he was advised to buy one, he spat at the employee and challenged him to a fight.
An off-duty BTP officer at the station came over and was in the process of arresting Quinlan when he broke free and ran off. The officer went after him but Quinlan managed to escape.
CCTV images from the incident were circulated to local police who identified Quinlan and he was arrested at Gloucester Crown Court just seven days later, where he was appearing over an unrelated matter.
Quinlan, of no fixed address, was later charged with assaulting the member of rail staff and obstructing a constable in the course of his duty.
He admitted both offences and on April 1, he was handed a three-month term for the assault and one month for the obstruction, to run consecutively. His conviction also activated an eight-month suspended sentence for a previous offence, giving him a total term of 12 months.
PC Ashley Smith from BTP said, “Nobody should have to experience aggression and violence simply for doing their job and we will do everything in our power to seek justice for members of rail staff who are treated in this way.
“The courts also take a dim view of such behavior and Quinlan has now landed himself a lengthy spell behind bars as a result of his thuggish actions that day. We hope his sentence gives him the time to reflect on his conduct and make him think twice before resorting to violence in the future.”
