Here are some of the people who faced justice between April and June last year at Teesside Crown Court.
APRIL
Gary Metcalfe
A MAN who threatened to torture and rape his pregnant former partner has been jailed for two years.
Gary Metcalfe grabbed a kitchen knife before starting to verbally abuse his terrified victim in her own home telling her he would ‘kick the baby out of her’.
The 22-year-old threatened to stab her in the feet and hands before demanding she go upstairs and get undressed.
Metcalfe, of no fixed abode but originally from the Darlington area, pleaded guilty to threats to kill, common assault and criminal damage.
In July 2020, he suffered life-threatening injuries, which included two severed Achilles tendons, saw him ‘effectively disembowelled’ and left unconscious in the street.
He was flown to The James Cook University Hospital where he underwent life-saving surgery.
Judge Recorder Nathan Adams branded the offences as ‘horrendous’ when he jailed Metcalfe.
Scott Gregory
A SECOND person has been jailed for his part in a crime spree targeting homes and businesses in the early hours of the morning.
Scott Gregory, along with his accomplice, Ashley Wardell, used a stolen car in their failed attempt to ram-raid a farm shop before breaking into a garage and stealing a bike.
The 38-year-old then attacked a man walking through Yarm and inflicted a fractured eye socket and, cuts and bruises, as the victim was making his way to work.
Teesside Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of both men taking turns to ram the vehicle into Hutchinson Hobbs farm shop, near Yarm, where they caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the building before giving up and driving away.
Gregory, of Pine Tree Grove, Middleton St George, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, driving whilst disqualified, damaging property when he urinated in the rear of police vehicle and inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Judge Paul Watson QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, jailed Gregory for a total of 42 months.
James Vasey
A MAN extorted more than £10,000 out of two men he picked up on Grindr while threatening to reveal their homosexuality.
James Vasey’s ‘truly vicious’ plan to blackmail the two men came to a shuddering halt when one, known only as victim A, plucked up the courage to contact the police after handing over £9,950 from his him.
When police seized the 24-year-old’s mobile they discovered he had been targeting a second man, named only as victim B, but had only managed to extort £120 from him before he ignored the defendant’s attempts to secure more money.
Vasey, of Aske Road, Redcar, admitted two charges of blackmail.
He was jailed for two years and eight months and given indefinite restraining orders to protect his victims.
Violent Brothers
A PAIR of brothers who kicked, punched, and stamped on a defenceless man have been jailed for seven years each.
Nathan and Scott Myers launched the brutal and vicious attack when the former serviceman ‘had the audacity’ to ask for a light.
They left the man unconscious and suffering from a badly fracture to his eye socket, which has left him with a droop on the right side of his face.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the assault exasperated the victim’s post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) leaving afraid to leave the house on his own.
The court heard how the violence erupted at around 7.30pm near to the McDonald's on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, on September 27, 2019.
Jailing the brothers for seven years each, Judge Jonathan Carroll branded the attack a 'disgraceful example of alcohol and drug-fuelled, gratuitous street violence' for the 'audacity' of asking for a light.
MAY
Marty Bates
A MAN who bludgeoned his friend to death with a hammer in a 'gratuitous' violent attack following a drunken row has been jailed for life.
Marty Bates carried out the 'vicious and callous” murder before carrying on like normal in the following days.
The 31-year-old let himself into the John Littlewood's Blackhall Colliery home in the early hours of July 26, 2019, before launching the fatal and sustained attack on his prone victim.
The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Paul Watson QC, told Bates 'whatever he did to upset you' didn't warrant the level of violence he inflicted on him in brutal, ferocious and sustained attack'.
Bates, of Tenth Street, Blackhall Colliery, was told he would serve a minimum of 24 years in custody for murder.
Jonathan Moorby
A DRUGS baron who continued to run his lucrative cocaine business while on the run in Thailand has had another 14 years added to his sentence.
Jonathan Moorby was involved in running a ‘commercial’ operation flooding the region with the Class A drug after having it transported across the Pennines from another organised crime group working out of Liverpool.
By August 2015 he was back in the game using encrypted handsets to distribute the orders to his team based in and around Stockton.
Ryan Marsh
A MAN who drank around eight pints before throwing a baby into the air and dropping it on its head causing catastrophic injuries has been jailed.
Ryan Marsh admitted causing the injuries to the boy when he was looking after the baby.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the youngster suffered a bleed on the brain which has left him suffering from epilepsy and needing to be fed through a tube.
Marsh, of Brockrigg Court, Guisborough, pleaded guilty to assaulting the young child.
Luke Cashman
A VIOLENT offender has been jailed for life for stabbing a man five times with a ‘Rambo’ knife when Christmas Day celebrations descended into chaos.
Luke Cashman branded the judge a 'f***ing lunatic' as he was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court for wounding with intent.
The violence erupted when Cashman was visiting his mother’s home and he became involved in a confrontation with two men he didn’t want there as he was with his partner and their young son.
The court heard how the defendant left the house to grab a knife from his car before returning and stabbing his victim five times – twice in the back outside the house on Dinsdale Road, Hardwick, Stockton.
Cashman, 31, of Mowbray Grove, Stockton, was initially charged with attempted murder but admitted a lesser charge in court of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on Christmas Day 2019.
He was sentenced Cashman to life in prison with a minimum term of eight years in jail.
The sentence prompted a foul-mouthed outburst from the defendant who shouted 'Are you mental mate? Have you read the f***ing facts? He's a f***ing lunatic."
Judge Howard Crowson sentenced Marsh to two years and four months in prison.
Harry Summersgill
A DRUG driver who caused serious injuries to a young cyclist when he smashed into him at 60mph has been jailed for three years.
Harry Summersgill had taken a cocktail of cocaine, cannabis and ketamine in the hours before he ploughed into the youngster as he cycled to Preston Park with his father.
The boy's parents read out emotional statements to express their anger and pain when Summersgill was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court this morning.
His father, who was wearing a camera as they cycled to the park, recorded the devastating aftermath caused by Summersgill's dangerous driving.
Summersgill, of Whitehouse Croft, in Long Newton, Stockton, who was already banned from driving for drug offences, was given an extended ban of six and a half years.
JUNE
Paul Leather
A VIOLENT man who punched and kicked his innocent victim shouted abuse at the judge as he was handed an 18-month prison sentence.
Paul Leather reacted angrily when Recorder Nathan Adams told him he was heading straight to custody for the unprovoked attack in February last year.
The 33-year-old, who will now miss the birth of his child, shouted 'my wife is out there pregnant, mate. Everything I have worked for you have just thrown away – you're having a laugh'.
Leather, of Derwent Road, Saltburn, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm after causing a laceration to the victim's nose and chipping his teeth.
Stephen Johns
A PERVERT who sexually assaulted a young girl on two occasions has been jailed for six years.
Stephen Johns targeted the victim and took advantage of her while he was heavily intoxicated, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The 46-year-old also had a collection of extreme pornography videos stored on his phone, which was discovered by police following his arrest.
Judge Recorder Jamie Hill QC described Johns' actions as 'unfathomable' as he jailed him for six years.
Nigel Kell
TWO police officers have spoken of their fear after a man smashed into them with his van when they were trying to speak to him about a domestic dispute.
Nigel Kell drive at the officers when he turned up at his former partner's home despite being banned by a non-molestation court order.
It was when the two officers approached Kell's van in the cul-de-sac that he drove straight into one and left the other hanging onto the bonnet before being thrown to the ground.
In moving testimonies, officers Dan Reed and John Smith, told Teesside Crown Court how the incident had left them traumatised and suffering from permanent injury following the events of July 13, 2019.
The 52-year-old, of Cartmell Terrace, Darlington, pleaded guilty to two charges of assault, dangerous driving and breach of a non-molestation order.
Andrew Finlay, in mitigation, said he accepts he shouldn't have behaved the way he did on that day but panicked.
Judge Recorder Michael Fanning sentenced Kell to a total of 31 months and banned him from driving for 21 months.
Matthew Brady
A KICKBOXER who launched a violent, unprovoked attack during a road-rage incident has been jailed for 22 months.
Matthew Brady tailgated Brian Sowerby at high speeds before punching and kicking his victim unconscious leaving him with a fractured jaw.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the victim's daughter was working at Darlington Memorial Hospital and saw her father's serious facial injuries.
Brady, of Windmill Terrace, Stockton, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving.
Judge Recorder Simon Jackson jailed the 21-year-old for 22 months and banned him from driving for 23 months.
Anthony Beckett
A DELUSIONAL conspiracy theorist attacked his pregnant partner with a hammer and tried to drown her in the bath after becoming obsessed with a ‘great revelation’.
Anthony Beckett launched the violent and murderous attack in January when he believed he had become the target for the Chinese and US security service after posting a number of QAnon theories about the Covid pandemic.
The 33-year-old, who had suffered from mental health problems for several years, had a machete, knives, and a homemade noose, hidden around his Middlesbrough home after becoming obsessed with the US election.
Beckett, of Alnwick Court, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to attempted murder following the attack on January 18 last year.
Jonathan Walker, in mitigation, said his client had suffered serious mental health issues since childhood, predating his regular use of cannabis.
Judge Penny Moreland sentenced Beckett to ten years in custody.
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