Face of man jailed for hate crime rampage in Northampton causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to businesses
This is the face a 30-year-old man who has been jailed for a hate crime rampage in Northampton, leaving several businesses feeling the devastating effect of thousands of pounds worth of damage.
Raheem Bourne, of Edith Street, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday December 13.
The 30-year-old was charged with nine counts of racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage. He pleaded guilty to all offences.
Magistrates sentenced Bourne to 12 months in prison and ordered him to pay £12,000 in compensation.
The charges relate to a spate of crime overnight from Tuesday December 9 to Wednesday December 10, when several businesses in Northampton town centre were targeted and saw their windows smashed, causing expensive damage.
According to Northamptonshire Police, the nine businesses targeted were: Shanhai House in Wellingborough Road, Ginza in Wellingborough Road, Mr Lui Kitchen in Bridge Street, Matchbox Café in Wellington Street, UK Nails in The Drapery, Pretty Nails in The Drapery, Oriental Market in St Leonards Road, Hollywood Nails in Abington Street and Ji Chickens in Mercers Row.
Since the incidents took place, business have been left dealing with the devastating effects. Matchbox Café launched a GoFundMe to help raise the funds needed to cover the cost of replacing the smashed windows, as they said: “We can't cover everything for a business this small without feeling the blow.” More than £1,000 has already been raised, as the business has seen an outpouring of love from its community of regulars, following the incident.
Owner of the café Bing Wan also released a heartfelt message on the business’ Facebook page, which he is happy for this newspaper to share. He says the incident has left him questioning “should I be here?”, but says the “small tarnish of hatred” will not “deter” him in what he does next.
The emotional post said: “Reflecting upon the recent incident at the cafe has shown a lot about myself and how the cafe is involved.
“What is usually a very safe space of inclusiveness within the cafe, has been shattered by an outsider who thought otherwise.
“As I deal with racism on a frequent basis in different contexts, most who know me know that I will "banter" off this in the best way I know how without losing face or composure but still showing what is acceptable.
“I have noticed a few "individuals" who come within the cafe environment recently that their perception of racism is bordering towards a "hate crime" problem.
“We know that's just not acceptable, period, but when my ethnicity and heritage has been brought into question when the majority who know me, this has NEVER been a factor or a line of questioning.
“This small tarnish of hatred has now reared it's ugly head within our safe space of the cafe and questioned myself, should I be here??
“I know this will have a bigger impact upon myself but I know now that this will not deter me in what I do next but to stamp out this treacherous crime.”
Donate to the Matchbox GoFundMe here.