A ROBBER who targeted five shops in two weeks stormed out of his sentencing hearing after flashing an obscene gesture and telling the judge to “f*** off”.

James Cherry, 28, had expected to be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on Wednesday morning for robbery, shoplifting and two counts of criminal damage.

He was also due to be sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm, after he was found guilty in October of a wounding charge. Jurors heard he had left a woman sat in a pool of her own blood after striking her in her own home after a party on April 21 last year. Cherry claimed he’d acted in self-defence.

After hearing that the probation service had not been able to speak to Cherry to compile a pre-sentence report, Judge Jason Taylor QC adjourned the case until January 25 to give the defendant a final chance to speak to a probation officer. The report will consider whether he is a dangerous offender and should be given an extended sentence.

Earlier, the defendant told the court he had waited two hours for a probation officer to dial into a video booth at Bullingdon prison, where he is being held on remand.

'F***ed"

When he was told by the judge he would have to wait another month to be sentenced, Cherry said: “That’s another month twiddling my thumbs having to deal with this.” He went on to say his head was “f***ed”. Judge Taylor said: “My experience of life is if your head is, to use your words, f***ed then you don't take major life decisions.”

Cherry’s behaviour deteriorated. After hearing the victim of the GBH was in court, he asked: “What’s that little scruffbag doing there? Little s**g.”

The defendant later made what the judge described as a “w***** sign” at the court. The video link through which he appeared in court was placed on mute, prompting Cherry to sit on a table before knocking on a back door. As he was let out by a prison guard, the link was unmuted briefly. He was heard aiming the words “f*** off” and “f***ing w*****” at the judge.

Judge Taylor told prosecutor David Maunder and Cherry’s advocate Gareth James that he wanted consider the defendant’s behaviour during the hearing. He added: “There comes a point where you make allowances for emotion, then it goes beyond that. I think allowances were made.”

Theft spree

Cherry, who has a previous conviction for robbery dating back to 2011, robbed cigarettes and cash from a McColls shop on June 13.

In late September and early October he went on a spree. It began on September 21, when he stole £750 worth of fragrance from Lloyd’s Pharmacy in Royston Road, Park South, also damaging a plastic display stand. On the same day he stole tobacco from the One Stop store in Lawns.

Cherry was at Superdrug in the Parade, Swindon town centre, on September 29 – stealing four bottles of Jean Paul Gaultier fragrances. He robbed almost £720-worth of cigarettes from an Esso garage on the same day.

On October 1, he robbed the Pop-in shop, Cavendish Square in Park South, of £600 cash. The following day he damaged property belonging to Wiltshire Police.