Here are some of the most serious offenders who faced justice at Teesside Crown Court in August.
The cases include sex offenders, a burglar and violent thugs from across the region who have been locked up.
Hartlepool burglar
A burglar who targeted his victim while she was in hospital has been jailed after he bit and headbutted police officers as they arrested him.
Liam Rowbotham went on a crime spree when his mental health declined and he turned to alcohol and drugs to cope, a judge heard.
The 40-year-old was spotted by a neighbour as he was breaking into the property before fleeing with a television and other items, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Victoria Lamballe, prosecuting, said the defendant’s latest crime spree started when he stole four bottles of whisky from a Premier store in Hartlepool on May 22 this year.
After he was confronted by staff, he forced his way out of a locked door before fleeing the scene, she said.
Later on the same day Rowbotham assaulted two police officers when they were attempting to arrest him.
Dealing with the burglary on June 26, she said police traced the defendant to a nearby property where they found him hiding under a duvet in the attic space.
Recorder Paul Reid sentenced Rowbotham to a total of 20 months for all offences.
He said: “The burglary was an unpleasant incident. The occupier was in hospital and her house was empty."
Hidden shotgun
A man who admitted having a shotgun for his own protection following alleged threats to his safety has been locked up.
Jesur Ucarer had two shotgun cartridges hidden in a drawer while a stab vest and large sheath knife were also recovered when police raided his mother’s home.
The 30-year-old had moved into her property after he was the victim of vicious assault and hid the weapon under the bed so he could use it for his own protection, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Charles Thompson, prosecuting, said the defendant initially told police that he was looking after the shotgun for someone else but later admitted his true intention.
He said: “The defendant made the admissions that he had the firearm and the cartridges in order to defend himself from unknown individuals who had made threats against him.
“These individuals were supposedly searching for the defendant.”
Michele Turner, mitigating, told the judge that her client had moved into his mother’s home for his own safety and had bought the shotgun as a means of protecting himself from the unnamed threat.
Judge Richard Bennett sentenced Ucarer to two years in prison after he admitted in his pre-sentence report to having the weapon for his own protection.
“The shotgun was capable of being fired. It had been modified to remove the stock, to make it more portable,” he said.
“On your own admission, this firearm was to be used for criminal purposes - to threat or cause fear for those seeking to cause you harm."
Drug driver
A dangerous driver who reached speeds of almost 90mph as he raced through residential streets was also over the limit for cannabis.
Callum McKie was told he was fortunate not to have killed or seriously injured a pedestrian who was forced to leap out of the way of his speeding Ford Mondeo.
The 27-year-old, who has never passed a driving test, was eventually arrested after he jumped from the car and attempted to flee police on foot.
Teesside Crown Court heard how McKie had just bought the car before he was spotted driving around Hartlepool on January 13 this year.
Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting, played police footage of the high-speed police pursuit to the judge as he described the dangerous manoeuvres carried out by McKie.
He said: “The defendant very narrowly avoided a collision with parked vehicles as he momentarily loses control of the vehicle.
“There is then almost another collision which is narrowly avoided at two junctions.
“A pedestrian getting into another vehicle had to tuck himself behind a car door to avoid being hit.”
Martin Scarborough, mitigating, said the father-of one was now working with the probation service to address his offending.
Judge Jonathan Carroll sentenced the dangerous driver to 14 months in custody after the entire chase was captured on a police video recording as he told him he could have killed someone.
“It is a truly appalling piece of dangerous driving,” he said. “It was a winter’s night; it was dark; the whole of the offending took place in residential areas almost entirely subject to 30mph speed limits apart from those that were 20mph."
Convicted rapist
A dangerous convicted rapist is back behind bars after he struck up a sexual relationship with a teenage girl just weeks after his extended licence ended.
Ben Richardson adopted two undeclared online identities to contact the young girl before forming their illicit relationship.
The 24-year-old also failed to register his mobile phone, which he was using to contact the girl, with police, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting, said Richardson was made subject to a life-long sexual harm prevention order after he was convicted of raping a young teenager in July 2017.
The court heard how police were contacted by the teenager in June this year as she was concerned about Richardson’s welfare.
Mr Lonsdale said the police had become involved after Richardson was hospitalised after taking drugs while at a house where a young child was living.
Kelleigh Lodge, mitigating, said: “He fully accepts the offending, he shouldn’t have done it and he will learn from his mistakes to ensure he doesn’t do it again in the future.”
Judge Jonathan Carroll branded Richardson as a continuing danger to young women and girls as he jailed him for 18 months.
He said: “The whole point of your offending is that you were sidestepping all of the protective measures that society expects to be put in place to control, manage your behaviour and protect, particularly, young women and girls.
“That was never your decision to make; it will never be your decision to make – you are too dangerous."
Sex offender
A convicted sex offender has been locked up after he failed to register a mobile phone he was using to make nuisance calls to the fire brigade.
Stephen Vincent was given a suspended sentence in February after he was convicted of attempting to meet up with a teenage girl for sex.
The 58-year-old was issued with a ten-year sexual harm prevention order to help monitor his online activities after he sent a decoy an image of his naked torso and genitals while asking for photographs of the supposed 13-year-old girl.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the fire brigade contacted Cleveland Police after receiving a number of nuisance calls from Vincent in May this year.
Nigel Soppitt, prosecuting, said when police attended his address the defendant repeatedly denied owning a mobile phone despite using one to order a taxi.
A judge heard how Vincent eventually admitted having the mobile before handing it over to officers.
Martin Scarborough, mitigating, said his client claimed he had forgotten to register the mobile phone but accepted that Vincent wasn’t being honest.
Judge Jonathan Carroll activated the two-year suspended sentence with an additional four months in custody for breaching the terms of his SHPO.
“Having been convicted, a number of measures are imposed upon you in the public interest to manage the risk that you represent to the public, in particular the risk to women and young girls,” he said.
XL Bully attack
A man whose two XL Bully’s viciously savaged a family pet while walking on beach has been accused of keeping the dangerous animals for ‘nefarious reasons’.
John Pickering’s dogs jumped out of his car before rampaging across Redcar beach and launching a near-fatal attack on a Husky, which was witnessed by families.
The 51-year-old was told there was no good reason to have the dangerous dogs as a judge at Teesside Crown Court lambasted him for not being able to control the pair.
Recorder Anthony Hawks heard how Pickering’s mental health had declined after his son was murdered as the result on a longstanding family feud and he intended to breed the dangerous dogs.
However, the judge told the defendant that only made matters worse for him.
Sentencing him to two years in custody, he said: “I’m satisfied that your purpose in owning these dangerous and highly unpredictable animals was that you were excited by the fact that owning them and taking them out in public was likely to frighten other people.
“There is no other legitimate purpose for owning animals of that sort. The fact that you told me that you intended to breed them makes matters worse.
“You must have known that if anything untoward happened with those dogs, either in your own home or in public, the size and power of them was such that you were never going to be able to control them.
“So, what were you doing with them? They are dangerous, inherently dangerous animals. The inevitable happened on Redcar beach when children and members of the public were enjoying fresh air and exercising their dogs."
Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, had told the court how cost of keep the two dogs in kennels after the were seized by police cost more than £13,000.
In a victim impact statement, the Husky dog’s owner said she had been left traumatised by the incident.
Pickering, of Eastwood Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to being the owner in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury, following the bloody incident on February 5 last year.
Gary Wood, mitigating, told Teesside Crown Court how his client’s life had been turned upside down by the murder of his son.
He said: “It had a great impact on his emotional and mental health, so much so that he turned to misusing drugs and alcohol – his mental health was at a really low ebb.”
Pickering was given a lifetime ban from owning pets and the court heard how both XL Bully dogs had been destroyed.
Violent thug
A ‘cowardly and despicable’ thug who beat a woman round the head with a wok after he flew into a drunken rage has been locked up.
Ben Taylor violently attacked his victim in her own home when she was unable to wipe the data from his cousin’s mobile phone.
The 31-year-old knocked the woman unconscious and when she came round, she had to jump out of an upstairs window to escape his rage.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the woman suffered cuts and bruises after the brute, who lived close to her home, attacked her in October 2022.
Taylor also grabbed a police officer by the testicles when he tried to arrest him for breaching a restraining order while he was on bail for the attack.
Chris Baker, prosecuting, said the violence started when Taylor turned up at the victim’s home with a half-drunk bottle of vodka before becoming increasingly aggressive and slapping her.
Mr Baker said the police were forced to use a Taser to subdue the defendant when they attempted to arrest him.
The court heard how Taylor robbed a shop in Middlesbrough when he threatened staff with a knife he had hidden in his waistband on July 10 last year.
His final raft of offences happened in August 2023 when he breached a restraining order when he turned up at his mother’s home.
Mr Baker said Taylor spat at one officer, tried to bite another before grabbing the testicles of another officer – shouting ‘it’s time to play’.
He also pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of a bladed article, breaching a restraining order and five counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
Rod Hunt, mitigating, said his client was now completely clean of drugs since he was remanded and was like a different person.
Recorder Anthony Hawks sentenced Taylor to a total of three years and six months for all offences.
“You are a man who has ruined his life through drugs. It is no consolation to the people you hurt physically, financially or emotionally, that you have a drug problem.
“That’s your problem not theirs,” he said.
Repeat rapist
A rapist who repeatedly sexually and physically attacked a woman has been locked up for 26 years for inflicting a reign of terror on his victim.
Paul McQuade forced himself on the woman on multiple occasions using violence and threats to ensure he was able to satisfy his disturbing sexual behaviour.
The 49-year-old was found guilty of sexually violating the woman after he forced her to give evidence during his trial at Teesside Crown Court.
In a powerful victim impact statement, the court heard how she had "lost herself as a person" as a result of the sexual violence she endured several years ago and still has trouble sleeping.
McQuade, of Brinkburn Road, Stockton, was convicted of repeatedly raping the woman. He was found guilty of four counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and three counts of assault following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.
“In her victim personal statement, she has revealed the immense impact that had on her and continues to have on her,” he said.
Andrew Turton, mitigating, said his client had told him earlier that he didn’t think he would be able to sit through the sentencing hearing.
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 hereComments are closed on this article