Northampton man locked up after urinating on car and being racist and homophobic to police

A Northampton man has been sent to prison after hurling racist and homophobic abuse at police officers after being arrested for a string of offences.

Tinashe Mudyahoto, aged 39, was captured on CCTV in the early hours of October 15 last year driving his vehicle down Silver Street in Kettering in a manner that led police officers to suspect that he was drunk.

The footage then showed Mudyahoto get out of his car, urinate all over it and then get back inside the vehicle and then reverse.

Police were deployed to the scene, where they stopped the defendant and asked him to provide a specimen of breath for analysis. However, instead of breathing into the tube, Mudyahoto sucked in his breath. Further enquiries established that he was not insured to drive his vehicle and he was arrested in relation to that.

A hearing at Northampton Magistrates Court on Wednesday, June 14 heard that Mudyahoto then started to swear and hurl racist abuse at police officers shouting: “I hate white people” and targeting one female police officer in particular with homophobic abuse. He refused to answer questions and had to be restrained as he tried to fight officers, the court heard.

On 15 January earlier this year, the defendant was seen again at around 7.45am asleep in the driver’s seat of a van in the middle of London Road in Northampton. Paramedics were called to the scene, where they assessed Mudyahoto and found an empty bottle of alcohol next to him, the court heard.

Mudyahoto, previously of Delapre Crescent Road, was breathalysed at the roadside and was found to be over double the legal limit of alcohol at 71 micrograms in 100 micrograms of breath.

Julie Costello, prosecuting, told the court that, when the defendant was taken into custody, he said he was “grateful” for not killing somebody but that was the only thing he was grateful for.

Tony Davis, in mitigation, told the court that - having met with the defendant last night (June 13), he found Mudyahoto to be “pleasant” and “amicable.”

“Perhaps you will observe that I am totally white,” Mr Davis added, “I suspect it is like so many cases where people utter racist abusive comments because they are inebriated. It is merely the effect of drink.”

The defence barrister went on to say that Mudyahoto does not have a “substantial” criminal record and his failure to attend probation appointments could be explained by being recently becoming homeless and suffering with appendicitis.

For two counts of failing to provide a specimen of breath, threatening behaviour, racially aggravated harassment and breaching his community order, the defendant was sentenced to a total of five months and five weeks in prison.

For possessing cannabis and driving without insurance, no separate penalty was issued.

Mudyahoto was also disqualified from driving for 36 months and will need to pay £384 in court costs.