A young thief whose violent assault of a guard in a detention facility ended his 20-year career has been spared jail.

Dante Brown faced up to five years behind bars for the attack on prison officer Martin Cadenhead at Rochester's Cookham Wood, and up to seven years for a shoplifting spree of designer goods committed just a few months later in London's West End.

But at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday (March 24) he received a suspended sentence - and was told he would be immediately freed from custody due to time already served on remand.

In the same hearing, many of his crimes, including an unprovoked assault on a stranger in a McDonald's toilet queue, were also marked by what is known as 'no separate penalty'.

The court heard Brown was 18 and being held at the young offenders' institute (YOI) in Sir Evelyn Road when he brutally assaulted Mr Cadenhead and a colleague, Richard Wheeler.

The two officers had gone to the teenager's cell to ask if he wanted to go to the exercise yard, only for their "seemingly innocent" enquiry to be met with sudden violence.

Brown punched and kicked Mr Cadenhead with such force that his lower teeth were displaced and pushed under his tongue.

He then turned his attention to Mr Wheeler, punching him as he tried to diffuse the melee.

The court was not told why Brown, now aged 20, was at the detention facility when the attack occurred on February 3, 2023.

But it was said that the cannabis user was suffering from an episode of extreme psychosis and "heightened paranoia" when he lashed out.

Not only did he fear an attack from prison staff but also believed they were spiking his food to poison him.

He was therefore "convinced" that if he did not hurt the guards, he would be killed, said his lawyer Jodie Mole.

At a previous hearing last month, prosecutor Benjamin Burge described how Brown had "bolted" from his cell and punched Mr Cadenhead in the face.

He then stumbled back against a wall and fell to the floor where, it was alleged, the teenager kicked and stamped on his body and head.

Mr Wheeler was punched and sent flying backwards onto a table. It was alleged he was also kicked after tussling with Brown and falling to the floor.

The youth eventually fled back inside his cell as other officers came to their stricken colleagues' help.

Mr Cadenhead's displaced teeth required specialist treatment to be pushed back into place and a metal splint fitted to his mouth. He also suffered a punctured lip and bruising.

But the court was told his recovery was "not without issue", the damaged teeth "died", and anxiety from the incident and its aftermath led to him ultimately quitting the prison service.

Mr Wheeler was said to have sustained fairly minor injuries including reddening to the face and a cut chin.

Due to his psychosis he believed attacking the officers was the only way to protect himself​

Brown, who is of no fixed address, initially denied charges of causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and assault on an emergency worker.

However, due to concerns over his mental health, his trial could not go ahead and psychiatric reports were required.

He eventually pleaded guilty at a hearing in November last year to the less serious offence of causing GBH as well as the assault, and was remanded in custody on those two charges.

But by that time he had already spent almost a year on remand awaiting sentence for a variety of crimes committed ​between May and September 2023.

These included four offences of shoplifting in respect of Prada sunglasses worth £2,000, Versace handbags totalling £8,000, a £900 Canada Goose coat and Lux clothing worth £17,000 - all from a variety of West End stores - as well as theft of a £16 rucksack from Bluewater's Primark, battery of a woman in a Brixton branch of McDonald's, ​obstructing police, kicking a constable in the chest and breaching a conditional discharge imposed for robbery when he was just 16.

​The court heard of his "complex" background, including involvement with psychiatric services from the age of five and a childhood peppered with experiences of domestic abuse, witchcraft and shamanism.

Ms Mole also disputed the nature and number of blows struck during the violent outburst at Cookham Wood, describing it as a "short-lived, three-second" incident.

Highlighting the defendant's state of mind at the time, she told the court how just a few days prior he passed out while being restrained and therefore feared being set upon by staff.

"Due to his psychosis he believed attacking the officers was the only way to protect himself​," she added.

It was against this background and Brown's history of long-standing mental health issues, neurological impairment, complex PTSD​, traumatic upbringing, guilty pleas and time served on remand that Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring said he could suspend ​a total sentence of 12 months' imprisonment for 18 months.

He also told Brown, who appeared via videolink with London's Belmarsh Prison, that his violent reaction to the two jailers had to be viewed in context with what he was going through at the time.

"You had been experiencing hallucinations and paranoia, you believed prison officers were spiking your food and an inmate had told you they (staff) were trying to hurt and kill you," said the judge.

"I accept you were feeling paranoid and concerned for your safety, that you believed in the state you were in that they may attack you, and that is why you reacted in the way you did."

Judge Goldspring said he also accepted that the assaults amounted to two punches and a kick, did not involve "substantial" force and were neither prolonged nor persistent.

Brown was handed eight months' detention for the offence on Mr Cadenhead, two months concurrent for the assault on Mr Wheeler, four months concurrent for the Versace theft and four months consecutive for the Lux theft, making a total of 12 months.

The maximum sentence for a GBH offence is five years, with a maximum of seven years for shoplifting.

In suspending the jail term, Judge Goldspring said strong personal mitigation and rehabilitation prospects outweighed the need for immediate custody.

He also told Brown that the punitive element of having been on remand meant the only condition attached to the sentence was 15 rehabilitation activity requirements.

The remainder of his offences were marked on the court file as having no separate penalty imposed.

Cookham Wood YOI has since closed and been repurposed as an adult prison after facing criticism over its "shocking" level of violence and poor conditions.

A further damning report found prisoners had resorted to creating barriers using cardboard and towels to keep rats out of their cells.

In September, the facility became the first category C prison to be issued with an urgent notification for improvement following an inspection which found “a shocking level of neglect”.