Men behind Heathrow tear gas attack that left people 'vomiting blood' jailed

Men behind Heathrow tear gas attack that left people 'vomiting blood' jailed Heathrow Terminal 3 was shut down for hours after tear gas was sprayed leaving people hospitalised and bystanders coughing, choking and 'vomiting blood' Four men have been jailed after tear gas was sprayed inside a terminal at Heathrow Airport leaving passengers coughing, choking and "vomiting blood". A woman who was sprayed in the face with tear gas before having her suitcase taken was among five of 21 people assaulted needing medical treatment. The attack caused travel chaos as Terminal 3 remained closed for hours after the incident with major delays for train and shuttle bus passengers. Tyrone Richards, 31, Anton Clarke-Butcher, 25, Omoneke Whyte, 31, and Denzel Eduardo, 29, were handed prison sentences at Isleworth Crown Court today. The four men all pleaded guilty to affray at the west London court in June. Richards, who appeared by video link from HMP Wayland in Norfolk, was jailed for 27 months. White and Eduardo, who were at HMP Wormwood Scrubs on video link, were each jailed for 23 months and Clarke-Butcher, who was at the same prison, was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment. Sentencing the four on Wednesday, Judge Kwame Inyundo said: "Individuals were targeted by you as a group and the violence used in the incident was serious and sustained." The hearing was previously told how masked men sprayed what was "believed to be CS spray" into a lift at an airport car park at 8am on December 7 last year. In the lift were two women who had arrived on a flight from Johannesburg in South Africa and two men who had met them at the airport. The court heard that the defendants were prevented from entering by the group as "innocent parties ran away from the lift in some distress". Once the lift was on the ground floor, gas was sprayed, causing "difficulties for people at a Caffè Nero nearby". One of the baristas at the café explained she started coughing and vomiting blood, telling the court she was scared as she "felt fine one minute and then almost instantly unwell". People in the vicinity needed hospital treatment after coming into contact with the substance, which is widely used by police forces as tear gas to incapacitate people. The court was told the defendants followed the two women to an airport taxi forecourt and took their suitcases, which were never recovered. One of the women was then left "coughing and choking" after she was sprayed in the face with CS gas at close range. The judge said it became apparent that the group of men "had a particular and determined interest" in the women’s suitcases. "Your group followed and confronted the pair (of women) who tried to get a taxi," Judge Inyundo said. "Your group threatened violence to them and took the suitcases from them." A customer service agent at Terminal 3 said the incident was "terrifying", adding she "felt dizzy and like I was going to pass out" and that a woman in a wheelchair she was assisting "was struggling to breathe and using an inhaler". A mother who arrived from a flight from South Africa with her 14-month-old son said her child started to cough, telling the court: "I was immediately afraid for my baby's safety and my own safety". A man who was ordering a taxi from the airport's car park said "20 to 30 people were all coughing" after the incident and he was "struggling to breathe". Prosecutor Gary Rutter said he "could not say exactly what led to this incident", but "one may suspect what was going on". He added that the incident left "members of the public, coughing, vomiting, and some vomited blood". Richards was arrested while still at the airport and the other three defendants were later identified and arrested separately. The defence barrister for Eduardo, Genevieve Moss, told the court the CS gas "was discharged by the rival group", adding that he has asthma and this would have had a "dangerous impact on him". Eduardo has 12 previous convictions for 18 offences and the lawyer said he would have "not agreed to take part in any activity involving such a substance". He also expressed "deep remorse". Rushnay Sikander, representing Whyte, said he was "very remorseful". The lawyer also told the court that Whyte had a "traumatic childhood" which saw his father being murdered when he was five. He has also been the victim of three separate stabbings. Shanda McAteer, representing Clarke-Butcher, who has 14 convictions for 31 offences, said he denied releasing the gas and "genuinely expresses remorse". Patrick Harte, representing Richards, who has three previous convictions, said he was "not present when the first spray was released" and was "sorry to innocent bystanders suffering anguish". Richards, who appeared by video link from HMP Wayland in Norfolk, was jailed for 27 months. White and Eduardo, who were at HMP Wormwood Scrubs on video link, were each jailed for 23 months and Clarke-Butcher, who was at the same prison, was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.