Hartlepool teen Dylan Willis freed from jail after sentence appeal

Dylan Willis, from Hartlepool, was sentenced to 14 months in a Youth Detention Centre for smashing the window of a Chinese takeaway during violent disorder in Middlesbrough on August 4.

He was caught on video walking along Parliament Road with a brick in his hand before smashing it through the window of the Red Lantern takeaway when more than a thousand people took to the streets.

The 18-year-old later handed himself into police after they shared footage online trying to trace those responsible.

At the Court of Appeal on Thursday, judges were told that sentences given to Willis and three other men - Ozzie Cush, Paul Williams and Aminadab Temesgen who all received prison or detention terms of between 10 months and 26 months - were “harsh” and “manifestly excessive” and should be reduced in what are thought to be the first appeals related to the summer unrest.

And in their ruling, three judges quashed Willis’ original sentence of 14 months’ detention for violent disorder after the then-18-year-old joined disorder in Middlesbrough.

Dylan Willis. (Image: Cleveland Police) His sentence was changed to 14 months in a young offenders institution, suspended for two years, with up to 40 days of rehabilitation activity.

Suspending the sentence means he will be released from jail.

Mr Justice Bennathan, sitting with the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and Lord Justice Holroyde, said: “We have concluded that this court should interfere with the decision below.”

Willis threw a brick at the window of the Red Lantern. (Image: Google) Willis, appearing via video link from Holme House prison, appeared emotional as the decision was read out.

Teesside Crown Court previously heard he had no connection to any right-wing views or groups.

The three judges dismissed appeals from Cush and Williams and altered then-19-year-old Temesgen’s sentence from 14 months in prison to 14 months in youth detention due to his age.

Williams, then 45, was jailed for two years and two months in August after he threw metal fencing and a can of beer at police after goading officers during the rioting in Sunderland on August 2.

Paul Williams. (Image: Sarah Caldecott) Baroness Carr said the disorder earlier this year was “fuelled by misinformation and far right sentiment, spreading to various towns and cities across the nation”.

She added: “In the context of widespread and significant public disorder, it is not only the precise individual acts of an offender that matter.

“It is the fact that the offender is taking part in violent disorder, threatening violence against other people or property, and is part and parcel of widespread threatening and alarming activity.

“That is the gravamen of the offending: being one of those who, by weight of numbers, pursues a common and unlawful purpose.

“Thus, whilst what an individual offender may have done themselves is of relevance, their acts must not be taken in isolation.”

Earlier on Thursday, Alex Granville, for Cush, said there was “significant mitigation for each appellant and significant circumstances”, which may not have been properly considered.

He later told the court that an immediate prison sentence is not the only way to deter potential offenders.

The barrister continued: “Suspended sentences hanging over a defendant’s head, while subject to other forms of punitive work can act as a deterrent but can also act as rehabilitation.”

The Crown Prosecution Service responded to the appeals.

Duncan Atkinson KC, for the body, said that each of the sentencing judges took the correct approach.

He said: “Whilst context is not everything, it is extremely important to sentencing in cases such as this.

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“Each of these offenders in their different ways were sentenced for participating in different ways.”

The barrister added: “It is clear that each of the judges was aware they had to assess the incident and its impact before going on to assess the role of the individual.”

Cush, 20, from Reading, was jailed for 10 months after pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker during a protest in central London.

Temesgen, from Plymouth, was given a 14-month prison sentence after throwing bottles at police in August, which has now been altered to take place in youth detention.