A BELFAST man who was identified by police as a rioter due to the distinctive wig he wore has escaped jail.
James Hodkinson - who posted a picture of himself on Facebook wearing the same wig he wore during a riot last July - had his sentence deferred for six months.
Hodkinson was told by Judge Gordon Kerr QC to continue working with probation and stay out of trouble, or face an immediate jail term.
The 22-year old was caught on CCCV pelting police lines with around 15 missiles during a riot which broke out in the Twaddell Avenue/Woodvale Road area of the city last July.
Whilst rioting, Hodkinson wore a red, while and blue afro-style wig. He later posted a picture on his Facebook page wearing the same wig and captioned the image '13th madness.'
When Hodkinson's Black Mountain Parade home was searched by police the following month, a number of items - including the wig and clothes matching what he wore on July 13 - were seized.
He has subsequently pleaded guilty to rioting, and also of causing criminal damage to the PSNI Land Rover, by pulling of a wing mirror which he then threw at police lines.
When he first appeared in court last week, Hodkinson's barrister spoke of his client's troubled background, which included being born with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome due to his mother's drinking.
He also said that rioting whilst wearing the distinctive wig, then posting a picture wearing the wig on Facebook was akin to an episode of TV's 'World's Dumbest Criminals.'
Judge Kerr remanded him in custody to further examine several reports and then revealed that last September he had been placed on probation for an unrelated offence, and that since then he has made progress, which resulted in a "positive" probation report.
The judge said that due to the good work currently being done, he was going to defer sentence for six months "with some reluctance."
Before informing Hodkinson that he was free to go, Judge Kerr told him he would face a jail term starting with "four years" if the progress reports were not entirely positive.
Sentencing has been deferred until September .
