Killers, robbers, and violent attackers are among the people facing justice at Teesside Crown Court.
Here The Northern Echo rounds up the cases of some of the most serious offenders locked up between October and December.
October
Double killer
A balaclava-clad psychotic man who used a sledgehammer and kitchen knife to brutally murder a young Sicilian couple has been detained in a secure unit.
Andrea Cardinale was in the grip of a schizophrenic episode when he bludgeoned 26-year-old Antonio Calabro, known as Nino, to death before turning his attention and his fiancé Francesca Di Dio late last year.
He was caught on CCTV chasing the 20-year-old through the flats before throwing her down the stairs and bludgeoning her to death in the basement.
The 22-year-old then went to a service station to fill a fuel can with diesel before dousing it all over the flat on Thornaby Road, Thornaby, last December.
Cardinale’s family were so concerned about the state of his mental health that his father travelled to the UK to try to persuade his son to come home.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the defendant was hearing voices urging him to kill the couple in the belief that they had put the ‘evil eye’ on him.
He said: “The defendant can be seen on CCTV chasing Francesca upstairs. He was wearing a balaclava and carrying a knife.
“He got his sledgehammer and held Francesca at the top of the stairs. He was then seen to drag her down to the basement.
"He collected the sledgehammer, before returning to the basement.”
Judge Paul Watson KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, passed an indeterminate hospital order after hearing medical reports into the defendant’s state of mind at the time of the killings.
Drunken killer
A man has been jailed for 14 years for the brutal killing of a vulnerable man severely beaten in his own home.
Kieran Potts punched, kicked, and stamped on Norman Ryan minutes after he had become embroiled in a scuffle with his own father.
The 24-year-old was told that his violent attack was 'severe and pitiless' when he appeared before Teesside Crown Court this morning (Friday, October 6).
Judge Paul Watson KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, told the defendant that he was certain that some of the fatal blows were delivered while the 55-year-old was laid on the floor of his Hartlepool flat.
He said: "This was a severe and pitiless attack on Mr Ryan.
"Though shortlived, it involved multiple stamps and kicks to his head with sufficient force to cause violent twisting which led to that fatal brain injury.
"For at least part of it he was laying defenceless on the floor. He was vulnerable by reason of his age and health but also by his level of intoxication at the time of the attack."
The 55-year-old died in hospital several days after the attack on August 31, last year.
Sharon Beattie KC, prosecuting, said the injuries were consistent with Mr Ryan being punched, kicked, and stamped on.
John Elvidge KC, representing Potts, said it was clear that all parties had been drinking and accepted that it would be an aggravating feature for his client.
Potts, of Moffatt Road, Hartlepool, was found guilty of manslaughter following a trial in August. He was cleared of murder.
Woman abuser
A brute who left his partner fearing he was going to kill her as he pinned her to the and choked her during a jealous rage has been jailed.
John Mowbray grabbed the woman by the throat after they returned from the pub and he started accusing her of cheating on him when she hadn’t updated her Facebook profile.
The jealous thug left the woman gasping for breath as he squeezed his hands around her throat, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Uzma Khan, prosecuting, said the attack happened while the woman’s children were upstairs in her east Cleveland home on May 7 this year.
“He was screaming and shouting at her,” she said. “He shoves causing her to fall and then grabs her throat calling her a ‘****’.
“He continues to squeeze until she is unable to breathe. He does eventually let go of her."
In a victim impact statement, the woman said the attack had left her in agony and fearing for her life.
She added: “I believe John intended to kill me – I was pinned against the wall and he was strangling me.”
Judge Stephen Ashurst sentenced the 55-year-old to 12-months in custody for the terrifying attack on his now former partner.
“You have expressed love for her but due to your jealousy accusing her, wrongly as it turns out, of seeing other men,” he said.
Mowbray was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order to protect the woman.
Jewellery theft
An illegal entrant who stole sentimental jewellery when he burgled the home of a pensioner couple just months after he re-entered the country after taking a ‘cavalier’ attitude to UK law.
Leonard Stan was kicked out of the country in 2020 after he was jailed for his role in a gang responsible for stealing mobile phone and digital tablets.
The 29-year-old illegally entered the UK in February under an alias before returning to the Teesside area to live with his wife and five children, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Victoria Lamballe, prosecuting, said the Romanian national had also been jailed for almost four years for a series of robberies and attempted robberies when he was living in Germany.
Dealing with his latest offence, Miss Lamballe said Stan had crept into the pensioners’ Billingham home to raid the woman’s jewellery box stealing sentimental items from her husband and heirlooms from her mother.
Stan, of Brompton Street, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to burglary which occurred on August 21 this year, and illegally entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.
Judge Stephen Ashurst sentenced Stan to a total of three years for both offences after he took a ‘cavalier’ attitude to UK law and said there must have been some planning involved in the burglary after targeting the pensioners’ home.
Army veteran
An army veteran who suffered post traumatic stress disorder following two tours of duty has been locked up for assaulting his partner and a police officer.
Steven Files twice strangled his partner during drunken rows before attacking her again in the early hours of the day he was due in court.
The 35-year-old reacted angrily when police found him hiding in a wardrobe in the woman’s Darlington home and a scuffle ensued.
An officer suffered a broken leg and ankle damage when Files was resisting arrest after the woman’s father called the police on June 22 this year.
Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said the officer’s body-worn footage showed how the defendant immediately became aggressive when he came out of the wardrobe before lunging at one of them.
He added: “The officer tried to take him to the floor, as he did so the officer’s leg twisted and caused his ankle to get stuck – he suffered a broken leg and ligament damage.”
The court heard how Files first attacked his partner in July 22 last year when they argued after a party and he grabbed her throat, squeezing the breath out of her.
The defendant then attacked her again several weeks later on September 9, this time he grabbed her throat and became increasingly abusive towards her.
Tabitha Buck, mitigating, told Teesside Crown Court how her client was taking steps to deal with his PTSD but accepted that he needed further support.
Recorder Felicity Davies sentenced Files to a total of 64 weeks for all offences.
Taxi robbery
A violent robber who threatened a taxi driver with a knife before stealing money and driving off in the car has been branded a dangerous offender.
Lee Wood held a knife to the throat of a taxi driver on Ingleton Road in Stockton on December 27, 2022, and threatened to stab him while demanding money from him.
The 28-year-old armed robber was caught on the cab’s CCTV saying ‘Get out the car and there won’t be no problem. I swear down I’ll stab you’.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the driver managed to flee his Skoda leaving behind £370 in cash and the keys in the ignition.
Wood then made off in the taxi, which was tracked to Stewart Road, where Cleveland Police officers found the vehicle abandoned.
His accomplice Chelsea Wyatt, 25, was in the taxi with Wood at the time of the robbery. She was given a community order after admitting stealing £370 from the car.
The judge heard how Wood was jailed for three years after an early-morning raid at the BP garage, on Durham Road, Stockton, in 2020.
Judge Howard Crowson sentenced Wood to six years and four months in custody with two years on extended licence as he branded him a ‘dangerous offender’.
The judge also sentenced 24-year-old Wyatt to a 12-month community order with 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days. She must also pay a £114 victim surcharge.
Violent attack
A man who took it into his own hands to exact punishment on people he believed had threatened his grandmother kicked and stamped on a man he attacked.
James Crammen and an accomplice kicked their way into a house before the defendant launched into a violent attack against the man without realising, he wasn’t his intended target.
The 26-year-old rained down blows on the unsuspecting man, knocking him to the ground before delivering a number of kicks and stamps to the victim’s head.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the thug inadvertently hit the man’s partner when she ‘bravely’ stepped in to try and stop the violent assault.
Nigel Soppitt, prosecuting, the pair turned up at the house at around 10pm and Crammen stood back while his accomplice kicked the panels out of the door.
He said the defendant then launched into his attack on the innocent man and accidentally hitting his partner.
Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said his client had managed to get himself off drugs while he was in custody but had been recalled on licence after the violence on July 18 this year.
Recorder Felicity Davies sentenced the defendant to a total of 80 weeks for all offences after he kicked and stamped on the wrong man during the attack.
Alcoholic thug
An alcoholic who armed himself with a knife from his home following a confrontation in the street with another man has been locked up.
Joseph Leighton was caught on mobile phone footage brandishing the kitchen knife in the street while he could be heard ranting and raving at the other person, who was carrying a machete during the incident.
The 52-year-old former bomb disposal officer was heard shouting ‘I know where you live. I’m coming for you’ in the footage which was played at Teesside Crown Court.
Anthony Pettengell, prosecuting, said: “There was an altercation in the street. He went into his house and came out with the knife.
“He was on a suspended sentence at the time and this happened two months later.
“There was no evidence that he intended to use the knife but to simply threaten with it.”
Rod Hunt, mitigating, said his client was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after he had to flee for his life when his lorry cab caught fire.
Judge Anthony James Brown told the defendant that custody was the only option and activated his suspended sentence before locking him up for a total of 21 months.
Burglary team
Two members of a gang who carried out a series of 2-in-1 burglaries have been locked up for their roles in the illicit enterprise.
Between Bradley Hughes and Tyler Hall, they were involved in a total of three burglaries resulting in several vehicles being stolen - with one used to transport the gang to their next two raids.
They broke into two houses and stole four vehicles together while Hall carried out a similar offence a few days earlier where the gang stole two other vehicles.
For one of the raids, a gang member managed to crawl through a dog flap in a door to gain access to the house in Yarm.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Hall was a member of the gang who broke into a house on Chillingham Court, Billingham, on March 31 this year and stole a Ford Kuga and Volkswagen Golf.
Two days later, the Kuga was used to take the gang to an address on Nursery Gardens, Yarm, where a Mercedes was stolen.
Philip Morley, prosecuting, said the only cars to be recovered were the Ford Kuga and Mini Cooper from the final burglary but both vehicles were written off by insurers.
Hughes, of Hastings Way, Billingham, pleaded guilty to two burglaries and four thefts, while 21-year-old Hall, of Redworth Road, Billingham, pleaded guilty to three burglaries and six counts of theft.
Nicci Horton, representing Hall, said her client’s offences occurred when he stopped taking his medication for ADHD and had since been recalled on licence for a previous offence.
While Tom Bennett, representing 22-year-old Hughes, said his client was ‘immature and naïve’ and unable to ‘see the bigger picture’ of the impact his behaviour had on his victims.
Recorder Andrew Sutcliffe KC jailed Hall for a total of three years while Hughes was locked up for a total of 29 months for their ‘appalling’ offences.
Rape threat
A man who made a number of vile threats and confessions while posing as a former friend has been locked up for the sickening offences.
Martin Richardson told one police officer he was going to rape their daughter after posting a picture of the youngster as well as confessing to the murder of Scott Fletcher and pretending to have buried his body.
The 31-year-old repeatedly call 999, using a system for hearing impaired, wearing a mask and a hoodie in a vain attempt to hide his identity.
Richardson also made a bomb threat to Hartlepool Police station resulting in the room of his former friend being raided by several officers in the early hours of the morning on December 28 last year.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Richardson sought revenge on his former friend, who is also deaf, after they fell out but the defendant had access to his online password after helping him to set up his accounts.
"You decided to take revenge. You set about engaging on a campaign of misinformation and slander. The emergency services maintained a 999-video service for those like you, who are deaf and use sign language.
"In the end of November last year and January of this year you made a series of 15 calls to that service. You disguised yourself and claimed to be (name of his former friend). You made a series of confessions to increasingly serious offences,” he said.
“Your messages included vile and threatening messages to these police officers, including a sinister series of messages which included an image of their children.”
Richardson, formerly of Raby Gardens, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice and sending malicious communications.
Hammer attack
A violent thug battered a neighbour around the head with a hammer after accusing him of stealing his electricity while threatening to ‘f****** kill’ him.
Daniel Naismith knocked on his victim’s door and launched the brutal onslaught within moments of the grandfather opening it and letting him into his flat.
The man suffered serious injuries, including two to his head which went down to the bone, as a result of the vicious assault on New Year’s Eve last year.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the 46-year-old had a history of serious violence on his record, including a previous attack with a hammer, and was branded a dangerous offender.
Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said Naismith brutally attacked neighbour with the hammer and continued the assault after he knocked the man to the ground.
She said: “Whilst he was on the ground, the defendant continued to assault him saying – “I’m going to f****** kill you”.
Naismith, of Coxwold Drive, Darlington, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent following the hammer attack.
In 2013, the defendant was jailed for attacking a motorist after smashing his car up with a claw hammer. He was out on licence at the time after stabbing to bar workers following a row caused by his erratic behaviour.
Sam Faulks, mitigating, accepted his client did have a significant history for violent offences but urged the judge not to sentence him as a dangerous offender.
“You had become fixated on the perception that your electricity was being stolen, you immediately confronted your neighbour about that and you struck repeated blows to his head – three to five times – with a hammer.
“When he fell to the floor you continued your assault against him,” he said.
November
Brutal killer
A man stabbed his drinking buddy in the neck, head, and body almost 50 times in a ferocious attack before attempting to dismember his tied up body.
David Thompson-Love battered Maurice Bennett with a kettle and tin of food before using a multiple weapons to stab the 54-year-old to death in his Middlesbrough flat.
When he was found by his victim's family, he was still holding a knife and said “I’ve done wrong haven’t I?”
The 37-year-old went out to buy a hacksaw, cleaning products and alcohol before returning home to try and dismember his friend’s body while the hacksaw blade was upside down.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Thompson-Love plunged a knife and potato peeler into Mr Bennett, known as Moza, while his hand was tied to his leg.
Nick Dry, prosecuting, said the bloody scene was found by Moza’s partner and sister when they became concerned when they couldn’t contact him on April 7 this year and later found him dead in the defendant’s flat.
He said Thompson-Love would rely on his victim and his family to the extent that they even made him his Christmas dinner.
Thompson-Love, of Oakrise, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to murder when he appeared in court in June.
Judge Paul Watson KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, passed a life sentence and told the defendant that he would serve a minimum of 18 years and four months in custody for the "utterly inexplicable and astonishing" murder.
Sustained attack
A man who launched a violent attack on a friend in his own home was told it was only good fortune that he didn’t inflict serious injuries during the assault.
Gareth Swainston slashed at the man while he had a knife in his hand after punching and kicking him to the ground when he attacked him in his own home.
The 39-year-old dragged his victim into his own home before embarking on the sustained assault last year after the defendant had chained the man’s door shut.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the victim suffered numerous cuts and grazes to his face, arms, and hands during the attack.
Anthony Pettengell, prosecuting, said the victim had returned home to find numerous items had been thrown out and there was a chain across his door.
“He tried to drag him into the apartment while he punched him with a knife in his hand,” he said.
“The victim says that Swainston got on top of him and continued to punch and hit him. He held the knife to his face and slashed across him a number of times."
Swainston, of High Northgate, Darlington, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent following the attack on August 17.
She said: “It was more by good fortune than design that he didn’t suffer more serious injuries, due to the length of the attack, it really was good luck.”
Perverted pensioner
A perverted pensioner has been locked up for grooming and systematically sexually abusing two young girls.
Raymond Mackley showered one of his victims with gifts before sexually assaulting her on a number of occasions, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The 81-year-old’s deviant past caught up with him when his victims spoke to North Yorkshire Police in 2020.
Mackley’s sinister behaviour happened for almost a decade, starting before either victim was a teenager.
Chris Baker, prosecuting, said the abuse had caused lasting damage for the victims after they had their lives turned upside down by the defendant’s sexual abuse.
Mackley, of the Green, Romanby, Northallerton, was found guilty of 16 charges of child sexual abuse following a trial.
Recorder Aisha Wadoodi sentenced Mackley to a total of 12 years in custody for all offences.
She added: “You carried out this abuse to fulfil your deviant sexual desires.”
Armed robber
An armed robber who targeted two businesses within minutes of each other in a desperate attempt to raise cash to pay off his brother’s drug debt has been locked up.
Donovan Hackleton was stabbed and slashed when drug dealers turned up at his home demanding he settle his brother’s £12,000 debt, a court heard.
The 30-year-old was taken to hospital for treatment before becoming aggressive and assaulting two police officers on July 29 this year.
Less than a month later, Hackleton walked into a Tesco Express shop armed with a ‘potato peeler’ before demanding cash from staff.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the defendant fled empty handed following the attempted robbery at the store in Normanby, Middlesbrough, on August 19.
Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, said the defendant then turned his attention to T-Style Barbers in Normanby, where he threatened a female member of staff before stealing cash from the till.
The court heard how Hackleton grabbed the woman’s mobile phone before dumping it in a nearby bin.
Hackleton, formerly of Oaklea Walk, Middlesbrough and latterly of Hambleton Crescent, Marske, pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted robbery, possession of a bladed article and three counts of assault on an emergency worker.
Gary Wood, mitigating, said his client carried out the successful and failed robbery in a desperate bid to raise money to pay off his brother’s debt after he was attacked and slashed across the stomach.
Hackleton was jailed for a total of five years for all offences after he turned to armed robbery to clear his brother's debt.
Sick pervert
A pervert who sexually abused a teenager and persuaded another child to send him sexually explicit images from her home in the US has been jailed.
Stephen Slimmings took photographs of the teenager while they were in bed together and videoed her while she was in the shower during his campaign of sexual abuse.
The full extent of the 38-year-old’s sexual depravity only came to light when he posted child sex abuse images only and police were able to trace his email address back to his North East home.
A search of his mobile devices revealed hundreds of child abuse images and a series of disgusting sexualised conversations with the teenager as well as the video of his American victim performing a sex act.
Teesside Crown Court heard how police were able to identify the first teenager by checking the tiles in the bathroom alongside the ones captured in his sickening video.
Slimmings, of Mickey Barron Close, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to inciting the sexual exploitation of a child aged 13-17; engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with girl 13 to 15; engaging in sexual communication with a child; making indecent images of children – 30 in Category A, the most serious, 51 in Category B and 536 in Category C; and possession of prohibited image of a child.
He said: “The police seized your phone and it became clear that there were a number of indecent images of children on your phone.
“It was also clear there had been an inappropriate relationship between you and a teenage girl.”
Slimmings was also made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and told to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life as a result of his convictions.
Sneaky burglar
An opportunistic burglar crept into his victim’s home to grab the keys of the car parked outside and drove off with the woman’s handbag.
Anthony Fryett spotted the patio door open at the house and took advantage to steal the woman’s purse, iPhone, and passport, as well as the passport of the victim’s late mother.
The 49-year-old then drove the car to a nearby shop where he used her stolen bank card to spend £24 in a shop.
Teesside Crown Court heard how CCTV footage from the shop helped officers identify the defendant and he was later arrested at his home while the stolen Ford Kuga was recovered nearby.
Tabitha Buck, prosecuting, said the homeowner was woken by her dog needing to go out and left the patio door open to give it free access to her home.
Miss Buck said the handbag contained the victim’s iPhone, purse, and the passports while the car was valued at £15,000.
She told the court that the defendant had 50 convictions for 174 offences, including more than 170 for theft and acquisitive crimes.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said the burglary had left her scared to be in her own home and had impacted on her and her family’s life.
Fryett, of Wheatacre Close, Marske, pleaded guilty to burglary and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent following the incident in the early hours of September 11 this year.
Judge Chris Smith said: “You helped yourself to her handbag which contained the passport belonging to her late mother.”
Fryett was jailed for two years.
Sickening violence
A man repeatedly stamped on his girlfriend’s head before stabbing her several times when she tried to end their relationship due to his violent behaviour, a court heard.
Christopher Kemp flew into a rage when the woman told him she wanted him to move out of her Middlesbrough home after he called her a ‘slag’ following a night out.
The 43-year-old was told it was a ‘miracle’ he did not cause his victim more serious injuries as a result of the sustained, violent assault.
The thug also killed one of his victim’s dogs when he picked it up and threw against a wall, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The court heard how Kemp then picked up a mop and repeatedly hit her around the head until it broke in half.
The woman suffered stab wounds to her face and chest and required hospital treatment for her injuries.
Kemp, of Hartington Road, Stockton, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent following the assault on June 13 last year.
Robert Mochrie, mitigating, said his client had struggled with alcohol and drug addiction throughout his adult life and had ‘no recollection’ of the events that unfolded in his ex-partner’s home.
“Your response was utterly excessive,” he said. “You stamped on her head; you took a knife from the kitchen and proceeded to stab her repeatedly.
“It is a miracle she was not more seriously hurt."
Serial offender
A serial child sex offender has been locked up after he groomed a teenager to send him explicit photographs of herself.
Paul Evans has a history of contacting underage girls through social media and offering them money to strip off and share sexual images with him.
The 55-year-old was caught when the teenager’s mother checked her mobile phone and read a series of disturbing messages between the pair.
Teesside Crown Court heard how she called Evans but he denied doing anything wrong and was just chatting online with the underage girl.
Rachel Butt, prosecuting, said the police were alerted by the concerned mother and they raided the pervert’s Teesside home where they recovered images and messages from his mobile phone.
The abuse came to light in February last year after he had been in contact with her for two months.
Last year, the father-of-one was jailed two-years-and-six-months after he performed a sickening dance which involved exposing himself to two teenage girls live on a webcam.
Recorder Thomas Moran jailed the pervert for five years and two months for the abuse of the teenage girl.
He said Moran has "a deeply troubling history of sexual interest in children.”
Bizarre behaviour
A prolific offender who bit chunks out of a bath bomb before tucking into fishing bait when she let herself into a stranger’s house has been locked up.
Rachel Watt's drug-induced offending was described as ‘bizarre’ when she appeared before a judge charged with two burglaries and a theft – all carried out to fund her addiction.
The 41-year-old also preyed on a disabled former neighbour by pestering him to let her into his flat before stealing food.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the man’s carers found Watt asleep on his sofa after taking a shower and rifling through his drawers.
The defendant carried out a third burglary when she targeted a flat in the Friends School Yard building in Darlington town centre.
Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting, said the first burglary occurred when Watt walked into a house on Shakespeare Road, Darlington, and helped herself to a taste of some bath bombs and fishing bait all while a young male was asleep on the sofa.
Mr Lonsdale said the defendant targeted her vulnerable former neighbour in January this year when she stole his food and refused to leave his flat until the carers arrived.
The Darlington woman's final offence occurred at the flat in the Friends School Yard building on May 11 this year.
Watt, of Parkgate, Darlington, pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary and one of theft.
Judge Chris Smith locked up the prolific offender for a total of 20 months for the three offences committed after she went on a crime spree to fund her addiction.
He said: “Burglaries of houses are always serious because you are going into someone’s private space and you are stealing their belongings but you also take from them the safety they feel in their own home.”
Brutal attack
A drug addict who launched a sustained and brutal attack on a woman in the early hours of the morning as she tended to her horses has been jailed.
Liam Shone jumped in the woman’s car while it was parked in an isolated area but when she told him to get out, he punched her to the ground and jumped on top of her to continue the assault.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the woman was rescued by police officers who just happened to be passing the scene on the outskirts of Eston, near Middlesbrough, when the attack happened.
Rachel Butt, prosecuting, told the judge how the woman was left battered and bruised following the attack on July 8 this year.
She said the victim saw him get into her car and tried to get him out but was only successful in retrieving her dog from her vehicle.
“She started to walk away but her started to punch her,” she said. “The defendant continued to assault by jumping on top of her as she was on the ground.
“She said she could taste blood in her mouth and began to panic that the defendant would not stop assaulting her.”
Shone, of Hewley Street, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm after he was arrested at the scene.
John Nixon, mitigating, said: “He is both horrified and disgusted that he could have offended in this way."
Shone was also made subject of a ten-year restraining order to keep him away from the woman and the stables.
December
Child Killer
Cannabis fire
A man who set fire to his caravan on his drive which destroyed a neighbour’s car was heavily intoxicated at the time, a court heard.
Graham Batty has no recollection of how or why he started the blaze but accepts that he was responsible for starting it.
When police arrived at the scene, a search of his property revealed he had set up his own cannabis farm and growing paraphernalia was also found.
Nigel Soppitt, prosecuting, said the 47-year-old was caught on CCTV leaving his home and getting into his caravan just minutes before it went up in flames.
Teesside Crown Court heard how a fire officer who inspected the scene believed that the fire was started on the upholstery before spreading throughout the caravan and then causing extensive damage to the neighbour’s car and property.
Mr Soppitt said the Darlington man's 40 cannabis plants and growing paraphernalia were recovered from the defendant’s home and specialist police officers believed it was his second crop that he was producing.
Batty, formerly of Barden Moor Road, Darlington, pleaded guilty to arson and production of cannabis following the event of December 22, 2021.
Philip Morley, mitigating, said his one-legged client was growing the cannabis to self-medicate as he suffered chronic pain after having one of his legs amputated.
“For some reason you decided to set fire to your own caravan. You must have known it was near your neighbour’s car and as a result his car went up in flames as well,” he said.
Sadistic rapist
A sadistic rapist has been jailed after carrying out a horrific raft of sexual offences inflicted upon a vulnerable woman.
Richard Morland recorded more than ten hours of his sexual abuse on a number of digital devices over a protracted period of time.
A judge told the defendant that his sickening offending was some of the worst she had ever witnessed after watching some of the disturbing video footage.
The depraved 47-year-old also broke into the home of another woman in the early hours of New Year’s Day and spent six hours hiding inside waiting for her to return but eventually left after stealing several pairs of worn-underwear.
Morland was captured on ring doorbell footage when his victim returned home to find her patio doors smashed open.
When police arrested the defendant, they carried out a search of his Shildon property and recovered a length of rope, a roll of tape and several pairs of unwashed underwear stuffed in a drawer, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Judge Jo Kidd branded Morland a dangerous offender as she passed a 27-year sentence for the horrific sexual abuse he inflicted on his victim.
“He repeatedly raped her and that is aggravated significantly by the fact he recorded those crimes,” she said.
“I had the opportunity of watching a short excerpt of the particular rapes set out in the charges, they make for the most disturbing viewing."
Robert Woodcock, prosecuting, said the defendant’s abuse was ‘bullying, sadistic, and misogynistic’ when he outlined the catalogue of offences, which occurred over a protracted period of time, including repeatedly raping the woman.
Sick pervert
A pervert who claimed he downloaded almost 2,000 indecent images of children to investigate the source of the child abuse has been jailed.
Stewart Duffey started downloading the sickening images in June 2010 and his vile collection was only discovered in January last year when police seized a number of digital devices.
The 37-year-old refused to handover the passwords to two of his mobile phones so forensic experts were unable to analyse the contents of them.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Duffey remained adamant that he was downloading the images for investigative purposes throughout the 12 years.
Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, police were able to recover 1,713 still and moving images of children being sexually abused as young as one-year-old.
She said officers seized a mobile phone, computer tower unit, USB memory stick, and DVDs for analysis but refused to co-operate with them about the passwords to two other mobile phones.
Duffey, of Thompson Street West, Darlington, pleaded guilty to possessing 383 Category A – the worst kind – indecent images; 466 Category B images; 864 Category C images; and failing to comply with a section 49 notice to disclose the key to protected information – the pass codes to the two mobile phones.
Recorder Aisha Wadoodi sentenced the defendant to 18 months in custody after he admitted downloading the images for more than a decade.
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Crack dealer
A crack cocaine dealer caught selling drugs in the street by undercover police officers was found to be running a small production operation from his home.
Rekan Ali was spotted handing over the Class A drug to a customer in broad daylight near Middlesbrough town centre.
When the 24-year-old was arrested the officers recovered a black plastic bag containing 46 rocks of the drug stuffed down his underwear.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the officers also found a set of keys for a house on Byelands Street, where they discovered the crack cocaine factory and a further batch of 93 grip-seal bags containing the Class A drug.
Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said both batches of the drug were worth up to £3,000 in total and officers recovered weighing scales and chemicals used in the production of crack cocaine.
Ali, now of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine following his arrest on October 6 this year on Lonsdale Street.
Recorder Anthony Kelbrick sentenced the Ali to a total of three years and four months for both offences.
CHILD KILLER
A man who shook a baby to death after he learned his benefits had been stopped and drug dealers were putting pressure on him over a debt has been jailed for life.
Michael Daymond took his frustrations out on Maya Chappell after he lost control of his temper while he was looking after his new partner’s toddler.
The two-year-old’s mother, Dana Carr, has been locked up for turning a blind eye to the abuse which had been going on for a number of weeks before the youngster’s untimely death.
The 27-year-old was supposedly caring for Maya on the afternoon of September 28, when she fell seriously ill at their home in Shotton Colliery.
As paramedics and police carried out CPR, Daymond, who had rung Carr before dialling 999, was on the phone in another room concerned that his Universal Credit payments had been stopped.
Maya died two days later in Newcastle’s RVI hospital without regaining consciousness.
Judge Mr Justice Bright, sitting at Teesside Crown Court, said Maya’s suffering had been going on for around five-weeks before her untimely death and nothing he could do or say would ease the family’s pain and suffering.
The judge has sentenced Daymond to life with a minimum term of 20 years as he continues to deny responsibility for the murder.
"This was a murder of a young child; she was particularly vulnerable because of her age. She had been left in your care and you abused that trust," he said.
For a round up of Teesside Crown Court cases from January to March, 2023, click HERE.
"The jury were told they could convict you of murder if they were sure that you intended to inflict GBH and I am sure that this was their view, as regards your intent.
"It is clear that this was not planned or premeditated. It is not a case that involved abduction or any sexual motive. Despite the cruelty with which Maya was treated, over a period of some weeks, I do not consider that you were motivated by sadism."
"The lies you told these people were about the state of Maya’s health and about the causes of her bruises.
"They were mostly lies told to conceal the fact that Michael Daymond was responsible for Maya’s injuries and to prevent other people from having the opportunity to see the worst of them. These were lies told by someone who knew the extent of Maya’s injuries and who had caused them."
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