Man sentenced after causing over £4,000 worth of delays on a train

A man who refused to get off a train, causing over £4,000 worth of delays, has been sentenced following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Kristiann Johan Jones, 50, and of Bodnant road, Llandudno, pleaded guilty to using threatening or abusive words or behaviour, possession of class A drugs and obstructing an engine or carriage by not leaving a train when told to do so.

On Thursday 7 April at Mold Crown Court, he was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £115 victim surcharge, attend rehabilitation sessions and be subjected to a three-month curfew and electronic monitoring.

The court heard how on the morning of 20 July 2021, Jones was travelling on a train from Chester to Holyhead. During the journey, the train conductor approached Jones to ask for his ticket.

Jones appeared to be asleep and didn’t respond to the conductor’s attempts to wake him. The conductor went to check on other passengers before returning to Jones, but he remained still and silent.

Concerned for Jones’ welfare, the conductor reached for the phone which was next to him to check if there were any warning markers for medical conditions to explain his unresponsiveness.

Jones immediately woke up and became aggressive and abusive towards the conductor, threatening to “smash” his face and swearing at him.

The train conductor refused to let Jones travel any further and asked him multiple times to leave the service when it arrived at Flint railway station, but he wouldn’t.

The train was held at the station due to Jones’ behaviour, until he finally left over 20 minutes later.

The delay cost the rail industry £4,241 in financial loss.

Officers attended and arrested Jones at the station and, upon search, found him to be in possession of two pills which he admitted to be ecstasy tablets.

BTP Sergeant Rob Thomas said: “This situation could have been calmly resolved if Jones had responded and listened to the train conductor – who was simply doing their job – and indeed was concerned for his welfare. Instead he chose to abuse them and delay the train and the other passengers onboard, causing significant financial loss to the railway and inconvenience to other passengers.

“Nobody should go to work fearing abuse or violence and the sentence imposed by the court shows this type of behaviour will absolutely not be tolerated.”

Rachel Heath, Head of Operations Delivery, Network Rail Wales and Borders said: “This individual’s actions were utterly unacceptable. Railway staff should not have to put up with abuse and he’s disrupted passengers on a key route and cost taxpayers thousands of pounds. This sentence sends a strong message: we will not tolerate behaviour like this on the rail network.”