A KILLER, a disgraced ex-Radio 1 DJ, drug dealers, and violent bullies were among those locked up last month.
Theses are just some of the people who faced justice at Teesside Crown Court in March.
Keegan Barnes
A WOMAN found guilty of the manslaughter of her friend has been jailed for more than eight years.
Keegan Barnes was found guilty of killing Toni Butler following a trial. She was found not guilty of murder.
The 28-year-old, was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison at Teesside Crown Court.
Barnes had maintained throughout the trial that she had acted in self-defence.
Miss Butler, 25, died after being stabbed twice in the leg last June 10.
The court had heard she had died of catastrophic blood loss after suffering two stab wounds to her calf – one piercing a main vein.
Both women had been drinking and taking drugs in the lead-up to the fatal incident, the court heard.
The attack happened at Barnes' home in Vulcan Way, Thornaby.
Mark Page
THE fall from grace of an ex-Radio 1 presenter is now complete as he is jailed for 12 years for ‘grotesque’ child sex offences.
Mark Page paid money to sexually exploit vulnerable Filipino children for his own depraved sexual gratification.
The 63-year-old pervert even haggled over the price when he was arranging to have sex with a teenage boy and a 12-year-old girl.
Teesside Crown Court heard how he signed up to an online dating agency, Filipino Cupid, before engaging in sexually explicit conversations with a young girl and offering to pay them to perform sex acts.
Page then travelled to the Philippines with the intention of fulfilling his sexual fantasies of sexual abusing young girls and a teenage boy.
He said: “The offence for which you have been convicted involve the grotesque sexual abuse of young children for your own sexual gratification."
'Bullying' pair
A MAN who was attacked with a knuckle-duster before being forced to hand over £1,000 worth of camera equipment to repay a £140 debt was the victim of ‘extreme bullying’.
The victim was forced into a car after meeting up with Luke Fines in a car park at Teesside Park following a dispute over drug money.
The 23-year-old threatened to ‘stab-up’ the victim before punching him to the face while wearing a knuckle-duster, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Fines, of Gladstone Street, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to robbery.
And his co-accused David Clarke, 21, of Cobden Street, Thornaby, pleaded guilty to the same offence as well as additional charges of possession of ecstasy with intent to supply and possession of cannabis.
Recorder Ian Mullarkey sentenced the pair to three years in custody for the robbery.
Clarke was sentenced to an additional 18 months for the drugs offences, so will serve a total of four years.
Jamie Stainsby
A PAIR of heroin dealers were caught after police spotted one of them acting suspiciously while driving a BMW.
Jamie Stainsby and James Roberts were arrested after the car was abandoned in Darlington and a subsequent search of their homes recovered £11,000 worth of heroin stashed in a wardrobe and more than £1,000 in cash.
The Class A drugs were found in the home of Roberts and Stainsby’s DNA was recovered from the bag the drugs were stored in, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Nadim Bashir, prosecuting, said analysis of two mobile phones seized from Stainsby revealed hundreds of messages relating to drug dealing including ‘adverts’ letting everyone know that he was back selling product.
The court heard there was 800-pages of mobile phone evidence downloaded from Stainsby’s mobile phone which showed he had been involved in dealing heroin for several months and included a number of postings saying he was ‘back on’ to supply.
Roberts, 22, of Meadowsweet Lane, Darlington, pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs – heroin.
Judge Howard Crowson sentenced Roberts to two-years in custody, suspended for 18 months to reflect his ‘time served’ in custody and the delay in his sentencing.
Dealing with Stainsby, the judge jailed him for five years and two months.
Paul Thornhill
A MAN who fired a spear-gun at a neighbour following a violent row has been jailed for almost four years.
Paul Thornhill was already on bail after he was arrested for carrying the weapon in the street when he fired the spear at his victim before hitting him on the back of the head with the butt of the gun in a ‘cowardly’ act.
The 49-year-old armed himself with the weapon after getting into an argument with a man in Redcar, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Sentencing him to a total of 46 months, the judge said: “When you got home on that particular morning there was a verbal disagreement but your response to that was extremely volatile and you made a deliberate, conscious decision to go back into your home and arm yourself with the spear-gun.
“You deliberately discharged it at a man. Thankfully, he didn’t receive any injury.”
Thornhill, of Slake Terrace, Hartlepool, was found guilty of possession of a firearm, possession of a blade in a public place, attempt to wound someone with an offensive weapon, and possession of a class B drug.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel