Stephen Grzyb, 23, of Princes Road, West Derby, has been spared prison despite a violent attack on his former girlfriend, stealing £400 from her handbag, smearing faeces in his cell, and escaping from a prison van. He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on October 22 for sentencing, having pleaded guilty to battery, theft, criminal damage, and escaping lawful custody.
Escape from prison van
Grzyb bolted from a GEOAmey prisoner transport van as it arrived at Liverpool Magistrates Court on August 1 this year. He was being transported from Belle Vale custody suite when he noticed a gap in the shutters and made his escape at around 10am. He ran down Red Cross Street in the direction of The Strand and remained at large for three days.
He was re-arrested on August 4 after being spotted trying to sneak out the back door of a building as police officers surrounded it. A woman eventually opened the front door, and Grzyb was arrested in the living room.
Attack on former girlfriend
The victim in the battery and theft was Paige Beresford, Grzyb's former girlfriend. At around 10.30am on July 26, Grzyb entered her building via a communal door and let himself into her flat. Jonathan Keane, prosecuting, said: "The victim was in bed when the defendant started shouting at her, telling her she was taking him to collect some weed and then to a café because he was hungry. The defendant grabbed a bottle of water and threw it over the victim."
Ms Beresford got up and went to dry her hair, while Grzyb "was shouting at her to clean up the water and clean the flat, calling her a tramp". He then picked up a pizza and threw it at the victim, and kicked her in the leg, causing a bruise. Ms Beresford tried to lure Grzyb out of the property and shut the door on him, but he overpowered her and dragged her to the floor. She retreated into the bathroom, and Grzyb followed her and punched her twice to the face.
Three days later on July 29, Grzyb sent Ms Beresford a picture of himself outside her address. He then went inside and stole £400 from her handbag.
Cell incident and sentencing
He was arrested the following day, July 30, and taken to Belle Vale custody suite on Childwall Valley Road. At around 4pm on July 31, staff noticed brown stains on the walls of Grzyb's cell, and CCTV showed the 23-year-old defecating and smearing his own faeces around the cell.
The court heard Grzyb had nine previous convictions for 34 offences and had escaped from custody once before. Katy Appleton, defending, said: "I would ask Your Honour to suspend the sentence. He is remorseful for his behaviour. He regrets his behaviour. He has had a drug addiction to cannabis since he was about 13. The pre-sentence report refers to his age and maturity which may not correspond with his actual age."
Judge Simon Medland said: "You kicked, punched, dragged, ragged around the woman in your life. You threw water at her. A very serious example of that offence (battery). When you were detained by police you behaved like a complete animal, an utter pig, deliberately defecating in your cell and smearing it around. Then when you were being taken to court, you hopped it and you escaped - and that's not the first time you have escaped."
He sentenced Grzyb to a total of 14 months imprisonment, suspended for three years. He also made a six-month drug rehabilitation order, a probation requirement, and ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. He said: "If you do the unpaid work it will do you the world of good. You can use that as a stepping stone towards rehabilitating yourself. Likewise use the drug rehabilitation programme with a view to getting off cannabis. Probation will assist with that. If you undertake all these things and get the work done to the standard required, that will be the last you ever hear of it. If not, adult prison awaits you."
