Gangster banned from wearing hoodies told to wear flat cap in the rain

A gangster tried to stop a judge from hitting him with a hoodie ban so he could keep his head dry from Manchester’s rain. Jason Corkovic’s lawyer told Manchester Crown Court the ruling was against his ‘human rights’, despite having been caught with a machete and sledgehammers during a robbery plot. Earlier this year, Corkovic, 41, was jailed with his uncle, Paul Corkovic, 48, after they were caught planning to rob cash vans. Their 39-year-old partner-in-crime, Jason McFeely, was locked up alongside the pair.

The Salford gangsters were caught by a police surveillance operation as they prepared to rob a £90,000 cash delivery from a Stockport supermarket on April 19. They had their faces concealed with ‘snoods’ and were carrying a bag with a machete and sledgehammers in it. Following the sentence, Greater Manchester Police applied for a Serious Crime Prevention Order aimed at stopping the men from plotting other heists on release.



The restrictions include a ban on wearing hoods within 50 metres of shops, banks and cash vans. They are even barred from wearing false moustaches and beards or possessing any face coverings in public. But Jane Miller, defending Jason Corkovic, argued against the hoodie ban in a Manchester Crown Court hearing, saying he hoped to work in the building trade and might need one. She said: “There are factors such as rain to contend with. When one walks down the street one likes to keep one’s head dry.

“I wonder whether to prevent a person from wearing a top with a hood, being a gentleman in Manchester, which has a propensity to endure rain, might be to have his human rights interfered with.” But Judge Roger Thomas QC pressed ahead with the hoodie ban. Rejecting the plea, Judge Thomas said: “Let’s not be silly about this. You say Mr Corkovic is a gentleman, well then he can use a furled umbrella. Or what about a flat cap? There was a time 50 years ago when every man was walking around Manchester with a flat cap.” The trio of armed robbers, who watched the hearing via videolink at prison, laughed and said ‘keep your flat cap’ in reply.