Security guard headbutted 15-year-old before falsely detaining him in Superdrug, court told

A security guard headbutted a 15-year-old boy before falsely detaining him and a friend in a Superdrug shop, a court has heard.

Rangers Jake De-Geus, 30, from Chichester, and Edwin Hirst, 40, from Fareham, Hampshire, are both accused of the false imprisonment of the two teenagers during the incident in the Chichester store on March 22, 2023.

Both defendants, who were contracted to work for Chichester BID (Business Improvement District), are also accused of assault by beating of the teenager – and Hirst is accused of the assault of a second boy.

Paul Fairley, prosecuting, told Portsmouth Crown Court that the two complainants with another friend were in the store looking to buy a bottle of shampoo when the two private security guards started following them.

He said that the boys started “messing around” to “get a rise” out of the security guards, including putting a bottle in someone’s pocket.

The prosecutor said that De-Geus is accused of then headbutting the teenager, with the two defendants then using “unjustified” force to detain him and his friend.

Hirst is accused of punching the second complainant in the testicles.

Mr Fairley said the first complainant told police that the rangers began following them.

He added: “It’s accepted by the two defendants that they decided to follow them, staying very close to them, making sure that they weren’t doing anything or stealing anything.”

He said that the group of friends started “being cheeky or teasing and are trying to get a rise out of the two security guards, they started messing around”.

He added that as the security guards detained the two teenagers “there was an almighty struggle, stock was knocked from the shelves as (the complainant) was swung by Mr De-Geus into the stand”.

“Other members of staff came to see what the commotion was,” he said.

He said that the friend “tried to pull the other security guard off and got a punch to the testicles for his trouble by Mr Hirst”.

The prosecutor said De-Geus claimed that the first complainant “squared up” to him and headbutted him.

He added that the two security guards say they had a legal right to detain the two teenagers, the same as a citizen’s right to arrest someone for acting illegally.

The case comes after a video of the incident was circulated on social media.

The first complainant told the court that he had gone into the shop with two friends to buy some shampoo.

He said that he noticed a ranger standing nearby to him and added: “I had never been told not to go into Superdrug or anything.”

He said that his friends were arguing with the two defendants and added: “I think it might have been something like ‘Why are you following us?'”

He added that the guards “weren’t physically angry but they looked annoyed” as his friend started to “wind them up”.

He said that he joined in the “joking” by pretending to put a shampoo bottle in his friend’s pocket and added: “It’s obvious I am not stealing, I am smiling in the ranger’s face as it happened.”

The complainant said that De-Geus then “squared up to him” and added: “He got really close to me, in my personal space, I look up and he is like really angry, gritting his teeth and then he grabbed my wrist and then started tussling, he threw me into one of the aisles.”

He said that he ended up on the floor and saw the second guard approaching.

He continued: “I got put on my front and then they are both on me, their knees on my thighs and top of my back, along my back and on me.

“They got my hands behind my back and trying to get me in cuffs but I am squirming, I am in pain, just trying to get out.”

He said that De-Geus had told him: “I have been waiting for you to do something.”

He added: “Once they have got me in cuffs, I started shouting and screaming, I got really angry.”

The complainant said that he felt he had not done anything to deserve being detained and added: “I wasn’t aggressive at all or anything like that.”

The complainant added that his mother had posted the video of the incident on the internet.

When asked by Berenice Mulvanny, representing De-Geus, the complainant, who is black, said that he was “pretty sure” he had not told his mother that the defendants had been “racist” towards him.

The complainant told the court that he had been banned from entering the Greggs and Sports Direct stores in Chichester and he had previously had a “joking” interaction with the defendants in the city’s Boots store.

Admitting having previously shoplifted, he said: “I have stolen potato wedges from Greggs. I am not proud of it, it’s a stupid thing to do obviously.”

He admitted that he refused to leave when the Superdrug security guards asked him to because he was “having fun” and admitted being “rude” but denied being “aggressive”.

He also denied being aggressive towards staff at Greggs and Sports Direct on different occasions and said he had been trying to “calm down” the situation at Sports Direct.

The complainant denied that he had headbutted De-Geus and said he did not remember the defendant saying: “I have just been assaulted, we are phoning the police.”

The jury was shown body-worn video footage of the incident, and the complainant apologised for the “vile language” he used in it.

He is at one point heard saying “Turn me around so I can spit in your face”, which he said was because the guards were “digging” the handcuffs into his wrists.

The defendants deny the charges and the trial continues.

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