Man who ripped plastic off non-essential items in Tesco was at 'breaking-point'
A man who ripped plastic sheeting off non-essential items in a Tesco shop in north Wales during the fire-break period had "reached breaking point over unfair and illogical" coronavirus rules, a court has heard.
Gwilym Llwyd Owen was caught on CCTV ripping plastic off clothing shelves in the store in Bangor on October 23. He was later arrested by police at his home in Holyhead Road, Gaerwen, for a public order offence, criminal damage and breaching Covid-19 regulations.
Owen, 28, appeared at Caernarfon Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the sheeting at the store.
Footage of the apprentice plasterer damaging the sheeting circulated on social media. It also showed him being threatening and abusive towards staff.
A security guard told the court how he returned from a break to find plastic sheeting on the floor. He was then told that two men had ripped the covers off the clothes.
Prosecutor Diane Williams said that Owen was "irate" and saying that children's clothes, which were covered at the time, were essential for shoppers.
She also confirmed that Owen was not wearing a mask and also not complying with two metre social distancing. She also stated that Owen had been "aggressive" towards police when they visited his home later that day.
Gilly Harradence, defending in court, said that Owen had become aggressive because of the restrictions that had just been implemented across the country by the Welsh Government.
Ms Harradence also confirmed that Owen was not wearing a mask because he suffers from asthma.
"Mr Owen just wanted to highlight the unfairness and illogicality of the regulations," she explained.
"He did not expect the publicity and media interest. That was also very stressful. The video went viral and was shown worldwide.
“He did not intend to hurt or distress anybody and has apologised to staff.”
The Welsh Government had banned supermarkets from selling items deemed non-essential as part of the 17-day firebreak lockdown but restrictions were later revisited by ministers who made changes to the rules.
Ms Harradence also read a statement from Owen's father in court who said that the incident was in "total contrast" to how his son would usually be seen by shop workers and shoppers.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has caused an untold amount of mental stress to many and appears to have had an impact on the younger generation," Mr Owen said.
“This is in total contrast to how he would have been perceived by shoppers and members of staff.
"This has come as an accumulation of several months of stress caused by the pandemic, he was pushed to breaking-point."Owen will be sentenced at a later date.