A woman with a long history of offending who once appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show has been jailed for assaulting police officers. Toni Hodgson was jailed for 30 months on Tuesday.
A court was told that on March 14 this year she was arrested in relation to unrelated matters and taken to a police station. While in a police van, she lay down and threatened to damage the vehicle. She started kicking the seats.
As police officers tried to get her out of the van she kicked one of them in the shin and another in the stomach. She then tried to headbutt another, claiming she had “broken another officer’s jaw and would do it again”, reports Hull Live.
Hodgson then began to spit, leaving officers having to place a spit hood over her head. When she was taken to the ground, she lashed out and punched an officer in the face. None of the officers were seriously injured, Hull Crown Court heard.
Around a month later, on April 19, police officer spotted Hodgson, of Boulevard, west Hull, in Little Queen Street in Hull city centre. She was searched and 14 wraps of class A drugs were found in her jacket. These consisted of seven wraps of heroin and seven of cocaine.
She was arrested and her home was searched. Officers found scales and other paraphernalia, which suggested she was dealing. Her mobile phone was also seized, which also provided evidence of dealing.
Ben Hammersley, mitigating, told the court Hodgson had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and said she did not recall the assaults on police officers, as she was on drugs at the time.
He said: “My client played a lesser role. She was not getting paid as such, but getting free drugs to feed her habit and to pay off debts. She knew who she was dealing to, but had no knowledge of the wider operation.
“She accepts she has a disgusting record and, while it is no justification, she has suffered a number of recent tragedies. Her father died last year and she had just come out of a relationship involving domestic violence.
“Her cousin was also murdered two months ago and she lost her brother to violence three years ago. She has expressed remorse towards the officers and would like to apologise for her disgusting behaviour.
"But she is making the most of her time in prison. She is clean of drugs and is on a methadone programme. She is also seeking mental health support and she has taken English and maths classes. When she does get out, my client wants to get a job and see her two children. She does not want to get into a cycle of custody.”
Judge Mark Bury told Hodgson to ensure she does make the most of her time in prison and try to turn her life around.
He said: “I do not just take into account the harm of the assaults, but the intention as well. You also spat, which is a disgusting thing to do, but I accept you did not spit at the officers. I also accept you were dealing drugs at a low level.
“I am pleased to see you have been reassessing your life while in prison and expressing aspirations for the future. While you are serving this sentence out you need to continue your rehabilitation. Once you have completed your sentence perhaps you can make a positive contribution to society, but that’s your choice.”
Hodgson had previously made an explosive appearance on the Jeremy Kyle Show in November 2014, in which she was seen launching a furious rant at two other guests.
Hodgson was handed 26 months in prison for each offence of possession with intent to supply heroin and possession with intent to supply cocaine, which will run concurrently. She was given a further four months for each offence of assaulting an emergency worker. They will run concurrently to each other but consecutively to the drugs offences, which means she has been handed a 30-month prison sentence in total.
