Bognor councillor faces jail for assault, burglary and theft

A Bognor councillor has been told he faces jail after admitting assault, burglary and theft.
A Bognor councillor has been told he faces jail after admitting assault, burglary and theft.
Damien Enticott, 34, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court facing three charges on January 9, 2019, via videolink from prison.A Bognor councillor has been told he faces jail after admitting assault, burglary and theft.
Damien Enticott, 34, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court facing three charges on January 9, 2019, via videolink from prison.
A Bognor councillor has been told he faces jail after admitting assault, burglary and theft. Damien Enticott, 34, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court facing three charges on January 9, 2019, via videolink from prison.

Damien Enticott, 34, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court facing three charges today via videolink from prison.

Questioning the wording of the charge, he admitted burgling The William Hardwicke pub in Bognor on September 24 with intent to cause damage to a window.

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He also admitted theft of £2,700 from the general manager of the pub, Hannah Shrimpton, and assault by beating on September 23.

Enticott told the court: “I pushed her away from me.”

It comes after Enticott resigned from the Labour Party after being suspended pending an investigation for allegedly posting anti-Semitic comments on social media.

The comments which appeared on the Facebook Enticott, who was elected for the Hatherleigh ward in February, were deleted but not before being widely shared on social media.

Other older posts on the Facebook page appeared to show support for transphobic and sexist views.

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In a statement prior to his resignation, Enticott said he accepted he had posted all the articles in question on Facebook and he was ‘anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic’.

Now he is facing prison after a judge saw a list of Enticott’s previous convictions. Details were not given in open court.

Addressing the disgraced now-independent councillor, judge Timothy Mousley QC said: “As you heard me say, and it won’t surprise you, you must expect an immediate prison sentence of some length but a pre-sentencing report will explore other options and in the meantime you will remain in custody.”

Prosecutor David Reid said Enticott admitted the burglary on a basis. Mr Reid said: “He entered the pub in order to remove his property but in order to do that there would have been damage, he would have had to damage property.”

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Sentencing was adjourned until February 1. Details of the anti-Semitic posts were not revealed in court.

Bognor Town Council is awaiting the outcome of the sentencing.

If Enticott is handed a three-month sentence or longer then he will be disqualified as a councillor. If he does not attend a meeting by February 19 he will be disqualified as he has not attended one since September.

There will be no by-election as there are scheduled elections in May.