Newcastle Crown Court Sentencing Results

On September 20, 2024, at around 9.30pm, Sean Bell, 34, of Blyth, stole a BMW 1 series which the driver had left with the keys in the ignition while dropping off food. The victim tried to remove him from the driver's seat but Bell reversed into a parked car before pushing the victim to the ground and driving off. The BMW was later spotted by police on the A188 Benton Lane, in North Tyneside, weaving across the road. Bell drove off at speed, doing 50mph in a 20 zone, in heavy rain. Officers activated lights and sirens but he failed to stop. He was seen throwing a can of alcohol out of the window. Bell then lost control while a double decker bus headed towards him, causing the bus to collide with the car, which was pushed onto a grass verge. Bell ran away but was detained with the help of the police dog unit and found to be over the alcohol limit.

Kieran Usher participated in disorder in Sunderland on 2 August 2024, captured on CCTV initially donning a face-covering before encouraging others to participate in violence and throwing a missile at nearby police. He was later captured on camera again as part of a large mob throwing missiles at attending officers.

Leanne Hodgson, 43, of Sunderland, repeatedly pushed industrial bins at a police line, deliberately ran into an officer, called another a racial slur, picked up a glass bottle as if to throw it, broke bricks to be used as missiles, and threw an object at a parked police vehicle smashing the windscreen, during disorder in Sunderland on 2 August. She was clearly under the influence of alcohol and shouting abuse at officers. Identified from social media videos. Tried to buy a balaclava earlier.

Andrew Smith, 41, of Sunderland, played a role in the harmful disorder in Sunderland city centre last weekend, which was fuelled by deliberate online misinformation, creating fear for residents and damage to local businesses.

Bradley Makin, 21, of Sunderland, played a role in the harmful disorder in Sunderland city centre last weekend, which was fuelled by deliberate online misinformation, creating fear for residents and damage to local businesses.

Josh Kellett, 29, of Southcroft, Washington, played a role in the harmful disorder in Sunderland city centre last weekend, which was fuelled by deliberate online misinformation, creating fear for residents and damage to local businesses.

Between November 14, 2023, and November 24, 2023, Anthony Bonner, 62, of South Shields, communicated online with an undercover police officer posing as an adult female offering access to a live stream of a 12-year-old girl in Asia being sexually abused. After initial hesitation, Bonner inquired about the child performing a sex act and requested to see it immediately. Although he did not complete payment or follow through despite further prompts, he was arrested at his home in June 2024. Police seized devices containing 141 indecent images of children aged 8 to 16. Bonner, a retired merchant seaman with a partner and her adult daughter in Asia whom he financially supports and visits 2-3 times a year, also cares for his elderly parents.

Ryan Grundy engaged in multiple acts of domestic violence against the victim, including slapping her during an argument on August 10, 2022, throwing her to the floor on October 4, 2022, headbutting and hitting her on July 25, 2023, during which she tried to escape and contacted a neighbour for help, and harassing her by sending repeated pleading emails between November 2023 and December 30, 2023, despite her requests to stop.

Police raided Mr Buglass’s address in January 2022, seizing devices including a mobile phone, a laptop, a hard drive and disk drives. They identified over 45,000 indecent images and videos of children spanning all official categories, including 910 images and 115 videos of extreme pornography, and 311 pictures and 12 videos in the most serious category. The material had timestamps from March 5, 2009, to January 2, 2022. Additionally, there were photographs taken by Mr Buglass himself of a young girl playing on a beach.

Sean Correlli Toscanni, 52, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was reported to police after a staff member at a Samsung store spotted disturbing images on a phone he had taken in with a query and recognised him as a security guard at a nearby H&M branch. A police examination of the device in July 2019 found he had been upskirting customers in the Newcastle store’s changing rooms and uncovered evidence of child sexual abuse.

George Ormond, who was 62 at the time of reporting, abused his position as a youth team worker for Newcastle United, committing sex abuse offences against players over a 25-year period.

Graeme Lamb and his mother Brenda operated an illegal money lending business through Percuniam Solutions Ltd between October 2014 and November 2019, issuing 361 loans to 78 people ranging from £50 to £1,500 with interest rates of 40% to 69.5%, receiving total payments of £173,299.35. Neither was authorised to conduct credit business. Investigation triggered by anonymous tip to England Illegal Money Lending Team hotline, involving Sunderland Trading Standards and Northumbria Police.

Harry Bertram, 19, of Sunderland, stormed into his aunt's home during a family gathering over a misplaced vape belonging to his mother. After threats, he repeatedly punched her in the face, causing her to fall and lose consciousness intermittently. After a brief pause, he produced a small black knife from his waistband and slashed her face, causing a deep three-inch wound requiring hospital treatment. He kicked the door and threatened to burn the house down as he left. Incident linked to relapse on crack-cocaine.

On 14 September 2025, after a family left a restaurant in Newcastle, one threw a lollipop at Hasan Mohammed's taxi to slow him down as he was travelling fast. Enraged, he turned around and deliberately drove at the group at about 33mph, striking a grandfather who suffered multiple broken bones and required a prosthetic shoulder. He narrowly missed others, including a woman with a one-year-old child.

Ian Hume slashed a man's face with a broken bottle during an altercation in Sunderland city centre in July, leaving the victim with a permanent scar on his cheek. CCTV showed an altercation starting before Hume struck the victim to the side of the face with a broken bottle. The victim believed the attack followed a comment about football. After the attack, Hume told people the victim was 'dying in town' and claimed he had stabbed him in the neck with a bottle. He later told police he was 'disgusted with himself'.

Jackson Roberts attacked his former partner in Sunderland, strangling her on 11 June 2022 and again in November 2022. The victim said the first attack was the day she 'died mentally' and that she was left with PTSD, flashbacks and trust issues. Roberts admitted two charges of intentional strangulation, pleading guilty on the basis that the incidents occurred during arguments in a toxic relationship after he had taken drink and drugs.

Dean McLellan pushed a frail 78-year-old woman backwards after telling her 'out of my f***** way' while she was talking to a baby in a pram outside a shop in Hebburn. She fell onto concrete, suffering a broken wrist and a fractured vertebra. McLellan walked away callously while she lay in agony. The victim required hospital treatment, a cast and splint, and subsequently needed increased care.

Dawn Taylor, 56, of Prudhoe, was recruited by David Wilkinson to stalk and attack his ex-partner police officer. She followed instructions to surveil the victim's address and car, sending photos and logs. Messages exchanged with Wilkinson detailed plans to attack with gun, acid, hammer, knife; discussions of GBH, trackers, and escape routes. She attended the property multiple times but later backed out and informed authorities.

Declan Fahey deliberately drove his Mazda flatbed truck into a quad bike carrying four people on Redworth Road, Shildon on March 5, after his friend's quad bike was stolen earlier that day. The collision sent the riders flying through the air, causing a 16-year-old to suffer multiple fractures to his skull, face, and thigh. Fahey drove off without providing assistance and later refused to accept responsibility.

On November 20, 2025, Donna English attacked a woman she had previously been friends with. After a dispute about money, the victim went to the rear of English's home. English armed herself with a corrosive liquid, believed to be ammonia, and sprayed it on the victim's face and back, then followed her to another street and sprayed it directly into her eyes, saying 'I'll get it in your f****** eyes'. The attack left the victim blind in one eye and with permanently limited blurry vision in the other, unable to care for herself or her children. English then sent bogus and disingenuous messages to falsely claim the victim was the aggressor.