Corby woman clocked up 228th offence as she swung baseball bat in Corporation Street
She said she was defending her son
A Corby woman jailed for ten months for swinging a bat at a group of people in Corporation Street said she was 'happy with that' as she was sentenced.
Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane sent Caroline McCulloch back to prison after hearing of her shameful criminal record which culminated in her taking a baseball bat to the town centre to challenge a group of people she believed had wronged her son, Sean.
He is serving a separate 23-month sentence for his part in the attack after accompanying is mum to the scene armed with a knife then going on the run before threatening Kettering police officers with a syringe.
Northampton Crown Court was told that McCulloch, 54, had gone to Corporation Street just before 1am on April 27, 2020, during lockdown. She had told police her son Sean had arrived home with injuries so she went out to find the perpetrators and took a bat 'for her own protection'
The court was shown CCTV footage of a group sitting on a bench in the main thoroughfare through Corby town centre. The McCullochs arrived on the scene and began shouting and gesticulating at the group.
Sean McCulloch then lunged at one of the victims with his knife while his mum swung her baseball bat at them several times, appearing to hit one of the victims, who later declined to give police statements. One received a cut to his stomach.
CCTV control room operators called police who arrived at the scene and McCulloch refused to drop the bat, but did so officers drew their Tasers.
McCulloch, of Northbrook, pleaded guilty to charges of affray and possession of an offensive weapon.
The court was told she had 75 convictions for 228 offences which included theft, dishonesty, affray, robbery, possession of offensive weapons, assault and prescription forgery. She had served several prison sentences. Judge Crane heard how McCulloch had previously been treated as an inpatient for drug-induced psychosis.
In mitigation, advocate Liam Muir said: "She's been a drug addict for many, many years. Her comments to me were 'I can't live this life anymore.'"
Judge Crane said that she would give McCulloch credit for her guilty pleas and reduced her sentence by 25 per cent to account for the effects of her having contracted Covid several times while on remand.
She sentenced her to ten months in prison for the affray and six months for the weapons offence, to be served concurrently.
As she left the remote hearing from a video conferencing room at HMP Peterborough she said: "I'm happy with that."