A MAN who assaulted police officers and gave a fake identity to mask a series of crimes has been jailed.

Sanmid Singh Sidana was a passenger in a car stopped by police in Montpelier Road, Brighton, shortly after midnight on March 2.

Sidana was in breach of Covid regulations at the time, so was asked to provide identification details for a ticket to be issued.

He claimed to be a 23-year-old man under a different name, but was unable to provide an address.

The Argus: Sanmid Singh SidanaSanmid Singh Sidana

A check of the details Sidana supplied on the national police database showed a driving licence photograph did not match his appearance and he was asked to have his fingerprints scanned – a request he refused without being placed under arrest.

Officers attempted to arrest Sidana for failing to provide sufficient details but he became physically aggressive, kicking one officer and claiming to have swallowed a quantity of drugs.

After being taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, he again became aggressive and assaulted another officer before being taken into custody.

There he refused to provide fingerprints, a photograph or DNA.

At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on March 30, Sidana once again provided a false name, several dates of birth and an address and he was again remanded in custody.

Investigations proved he was not who he was claiming to be, but over a number of weeks he repeatedly resisted a fingerprint scan to confirm his identity.

On April 14, Sidana was finally placed on a live scan finger print machine that confirmed he was 28-year-old Sanmid Singh Sidana, who was previously wanted for failing to appear at magistrates’ courts in London and Hampshire on charges of assaulting a police officer, burglary and supplying class A drugs.

At Brighton Magistrates' Court on April 16, Sidana, of Taunton Road in Hounslow, pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker at Brighton and using a fake identity and was jailed.

When he was released from custody at Lewes Prison on April 27, Sidana was then re-arrested and charged by the Specialist Enforcement Unit Investigations Team for perverting the course of public justice.

He was remanded in custody and pleaded guilty to the offence, then at Lewes Crown Court on November 19 he was sentenced to 64 weeks' imprisonment.

Acting Detective Sergeant Tom Duffy, of the Specialist Enforcement Unit, said: “Sanmid Singh Sidana wasted a huge amount of time and resources by wilfully giving a false identity under a fake name and three different dates of birth.

“Thanks to the tenacity of our officers in disproving his story and revealing his true identity, a serial offender wanted for a number of crimes has now been brought to justice.”

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