A child abuser, robbers and violent thugs are among those who appeared at Teesside Crown Court last week.
The Northern Echo has pulled together a list of some of the most serious offenders facing justice.
See them below and find out why they were jailed.
Armed robber
A masked armed robber left a shop worker fearing for her life when he pointed a pistol in her face and ordered her to ‘open the f****** till’.
Andrew Vaughan was wearing a mask with his hood up when he calmly walked into a One Stop Shop and threatened staff with the weapon.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the 29-year-old had smashed his way into his father’s locked bedroom to steal the air weapon and carry out the robbery of the shop in Eaglescliffe on June 17 this year.
The defendant grabbed £320 in cash and £47.94 in postage stamps before walking from behind the counter and waving the gun at another member of staff to get her out of the way.
Tom Bennett, in mitigation, said his client fully accepted his behaviour and wanted to apologise for the distress he had caused the two women shop workers.
The court heard how the 29-year-old turned to robbery after racking up a drug debt to feed his cocaine habit.
Recorder Mark McKone KC jailed Vaughan for four years and ten months.
Spitting thug
A vile thug who spat at the face of a police officer when he was being arrested for causing a disturbance has been locked up.
Dean Nixon was wrestled to the floor before having a spit-hood fitted after the officer was left with spit running down the side of his face.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the 42-year-old was serving a suspended sentence for assaulting his ex-partner when the disgusting attack took place on June 6.
Nixon, of Laycock Street, Middlesbrough, was found guilty of assaulting an emergency worker when he failed to turn up for an appearance at Teesside Magistrates’ Court.
The court heard how Nixon had 69 previous convictions including for violence and drug offences.
The defendant pleaded guilty to breaching his restraining order and possession of drugs.
Recorder Mark McKone KC activated part of Nixon’s nine-month suspended sentence and locked him up for a total of 11 months for all offences.
He added: “You spat at the officer, some went into his eye and mouth; that is not only very unpleasant but something that a police officer would worry about from a health point of view.”
Drunken robbery
A drunken man who robbed his former partner of £50 when he turned up at her home and attacked her has been locked up.
Gary Bartle grabbed the woman and shook her about before managing to rifle through her pockets and snatch the money which he claimed she owed his mother.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the victim had managed to initially fight off the 37-year-old and escape her home after she kicked him.
Bartle caught up with the woman while she was on the phone to the police and managed to grab the cash and escape on March 29 this year.
Uzma Khan, prosecuting, said the following day the defendant messaged the victim to apologise and over the following days they exchange messages.
However, on April 5 the messages took a ‘sinister turn’ the court heard which resulted in another confrontation where Bartle threatened to burn down the home of the victim’s mother.
The court heard how the defendant has 17 previous convictions for offences including burglary and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Bartle pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery and making threats to damage property just before he was due to go on trial.
He added: “The robbery is aggravated because you were under the influence of drink at the time.”
Bartle, of Bruntoft Avenue, Hartlepool, was also made subject of a five-year restraining order to stay away from his ex-partner.
Callous thief
A judge has blasted a man who stole almost £20,000 from his partner’s mother in a cruel theft of her life’s savings.
Jake Ferguson used the ruse of hoovering his victim’s bedroom but instead rifled through a locked box stashed under her bed and stole £18,400 and a number of sentimental items.
His theft only came to light when one of the victim’s sons noticed £100 had gone missing from his bedroom and his mother decided to check her money hadn’t been touched.
Kate Barnes, prosecuting, said the money had been saved up to use as a deposit for a house following the death of the victim’s husband.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said the theft had resulted in her not being able to get a mortgage and left her feeling as though her trust had been betrayed.
Ferguson, of Bristow Street, Middlesbrough, was found guilty of two charges of theft following a three-day trial.
Judge Howard Crowson branded Ferguson a ‘dishonest man’ as he locked him up for 18 months.
He said: “I’m afraid I don’t believe anything you say. It seems to me that you are a dishonest man and you are happy to try and lie your way out of this."
Racist attack
A pair of young thugs took part in a racially motivated attack which left a man with blood pouring from a deep knife wound to his arm.
The 16 and 15-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, carried out the sickening attack on an Asian couple at their own home.
Teesside Crown Court heard how it was the 15-year-old who shouted - ‘black b******’ at a woman before threatening to ‘cut everybody up’.
When the woman’s partner came out of their Thornaby home to confront the pair he was slashed three times across the arm leaving him needing hospital treatment.
Uzma Khan, prosecuting, said the pair turned up at the couple’s home on Thornaby Road, in the middle of the afternoon on October 3.
She said following the slashing the victim ‘felt dizzy and sick’ and his wife thought he was going to die as a result of his injuries.
Judge Howard Crowson said: “You both went to the victims’ home, you both had gloves on and one of you had a large knife in your hand – the other didn’t have a weapon of any kind but you wore gloves.
“The husband came to the door and as he challenged you, you pulled that knife out of its sheath and struck him three times and you cut his arm quite badly before you both ran away.”
The judge sentenced the 15-year-old to two years and four months in a young offenders’ institute and ordered that the 16-year-old would be made subject of a two-year youth referral order and issued him with a 16-week overnight curfew.
Sick abuser
A pervert who systematically preyed on three young boys over a 15-year period has been locked up for almost 20 years.
David Gillender’s horrendous sexual abuse had a devastating impact on his three victims, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The 66-year-old’s reign of terror over the boys lasted from for different periods of time from the mid-80s until the early-00s.
Simon Reevell, prosecuting, said Gillender was found guilty of 14 charges of sexual activity with the three victims while he was living in the Redcar area following a trial earlier this year.
Andrew Petterson, in mitigation, urged the judge to bear in mind the age of the offences and said his client was of previous good character.
He said: “Each of your victims was subjected to a sustained period of sexual abuse at your hands. Each of your victims felt they were robbed of their childhood by you.”
Gillender, of Mansfield Mews, Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.
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