Viral mugshot of man jailed for 16 months for flouting court order

A man who was arrested after being caught in the town of Wrexham for flouting an order banning him from the town has gone viral online.

The North Wales Police extraordinary mugshot of Nkonde Liandisha shows a man with heavily matted dreadlocks, his eyes almost completely concealed by his overgrown hair.

Liandisha, 31, had been the subject of a behavioural order imposed in January 2023 banning him from the centre of Wrexham after he had shown ‘sexualised behaviour’ towards women and assaulted an emergency worker.

Mold Crown Court heard he was forbidden from entering the centre of the town between 5pm and 8am each day,  but was spotted by police on Regent Street, a square in the middle of the town, at 10.45pm on April 2.

It marked the fifth time he had breached the court order and was jailed for 16 months for the repetition of his behaviour.

But Liandisha’s mugshot prompted mixed reactions from social media users, who questioned why police did not try to clear his face before taking the picture.

‘Terrible mug shot. Surprised police allowed this,’ wrote one person on North Wales Police’s social media.

Prosecutor Rosemary Proctor said the defendant, of Crescent Close, Wrexham, had shown ‘sexualised behaviour’ in the past and there had been an assault leading to the three-year criminal behaviour order being imposed on January 25 last year. 

Alun Williams, defending, pleaded for leniency as he outlined how Liandisha had made a guilty plea early on.

His mother had ‘had enough of him and thrown him out’ which had led to a deterioration in his mental health, he said.

But the judge, His Honour Niclas Parry, told the defendant his offending ‘really has got to stop’ and sent him to prison for his longest sentence yet, after which he will be on licence for 12 months.

Judge Parry added: ‘It’s time for you to understand that these court orders are there to be respected because they are put there to protect the public and, in this case in particular, to protect females.

‘This is the fifth time that you have breached an order that is only about 18 months old. 

‘You have had short sentences and they have not worked. The sentences are going up now because the short sentences don’t stop you from defying the order.’

He said he didn’t believe there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. 

Nevertheless, he warned Liandisha: ‘It’s important that you comply with the order because (otherwise) the sentences will get longer – far longer.’