Chad Williams, 30, is jailed for two years after causing over £50,000 damage to HMP Berwyn’s roof during a nine-hour protest.
Williams pleaded guilty to criminal damage. He committed this crime at HMP Berwyn in 2024 while he was in prison.
Richard Edwards explained that on March 16, guards escorted Williams back to his cell after he attended an adjudication. Williams then climbed onto the roof of the prison gardens. He stayed there for nine hours, refusing to come down. He wanted his own cell and threatened to tear off the roof.
Williams tore pieces off the roof and got inside the building where he found tools. He damaged the roof’s wooden structure further and threw debris at officers below. He threw shears at them and also fired a nail gun, but the officers were not hit.
This incident disrupted the prison, requiring officers to work longer. Negotiators arrived to talk him down. He finally came down from the roof after causing over £50,000 in damage, damaging felt, tiles, guttering, lighting and electronics. Tools were also destroyed.
Williams said he lost his temper and claimed he didn’t receive his medication.
Euros Jones defended Williams, stating he had been taking ADHD medication since age seven, but had not had it for nine days due to a nationwide shortage. Jones said things escalated quickly, and Williams felt terrorized, though he knew his actions were wrong.
Judge Niclas Parry saw CCTV footage and called it “incredible,” saying it wasted public money. He noted the country’s financial struggles and difficulties faced by the prison service, highlighting the high cost of Williams’s actions, which the public will pay for through repairs.
Williams received a two-year prison sentence for the criminal damage.