Young Teesside criminals went on 'burglary expedition’

Dale Taylor and Tyler Colligan were both arrested after they stole a pushbike and attempted to steal the motorbikes.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the following day they spotted one of the witnesses with her brother and threatened them with the knife while wearing their t-shirts around their faces in an attempt to mask their identity.

Sam Faulks, prosecuting, said the pair chased one of the witnesses on a motorbike when he attempted to flee the scene.

Taylor, 20, and his 19-year-old co-accused, Colligan, were spotted prowling around the Park Avenue area of Thornaby in the early hours of the morning in August 2022.

The pair set off a shed alarm when they stole a bike but the victim was able to identify them as they fled the area.

Mr Faulks said they later tried to break into a shed and garage but were chased off by the householder before they turned on him and threatened to ‘slash’ him up.

The court heard how Taylor then messaged the daughter of the burglary victim asking why he had been locked up.

Taylor and Colligan then confronted the teenager when they spotted her walking through the town with her brother.

The pair attempted to intimidate the siblings by threatening them with a large kitchen knife.

Dale Taylor (Image: Cleveland Police)

Taylor, of Beechwood Road, Thornaby, pleaded guilty to a non-dwelling burglary, attempted burglary and witness intimidation following the events of August 2022.

The 20-year-old also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after he was spotted riding a motorbike through Stockton town centre in November 2022 and pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking after a stolen Land Rover Discovery he was a passenger in smashed into a pursuing police car in August last year.

Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said his client had been on remand since his arrest in August last year and described the experience as ‘hellish’.

He said Taylor had started taking drugs to cope with the loss of a family member and had no recollection of his offending.

And Colligan, of Oxbridge Lane, Stockton, pleaded guilty to non-dwelling burglary, attempted burglary, and witness intimidation.

Robert Mochrie, mitigating, said his client was only 17 at the time of the charges he faced and should be sentenced accordingly.

Judge Jonathan Carroll told the pair that he believed they went out on a ‘planned burglary expedition’.

“When you were challenged, you immediately started issuing very serious threats saying – ‘you know where he lives’ and you were going to ‘slash him and smash his window’,” he said.

“The following day there was a confrontation between you and the occupants of the burgled premises, and again you had knives in your possession.

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“You were boasting about stealing the bike and made a clear attempt to frighten someone off from giving evidence against you.

“It couldn’t be any more obvious, you thought you could frighten people out of making you face the consequences of what you did.”

Taylor was sentenced to 25 and a half months in a young offenders’ institute while Colligan was given an 11-month sentence suspended for two years.

The 19-year-old was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, attend 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and was made subject of a six-month trial monitoring order.