Teesside Crown Court Sentencing Results

Cameron Clifford was a police call handler for Durham Police who accessed confidential force records after an undercover officer gave a false tip about cocaine dealers he knew. He sent photographs of intelligence records to the gang and made urgent attempts to contact them so they could 'stay out of jail'. He was a heavy cocaine user with debts to the dealers and had a close relationship with them.

David Halcrow, 47, from Murray Street, Hartlepool, was involved in a stabbing on October 21, 2023, at Glastonbury Walk, Hartlepool, with John Robbins. They punched and kicked a man in his 60s inside a house, threw a blanket over his head, dragged him to the living room, and stabbed him in the thigh after Robbins instructed to 'finish him'. The victim lost one and a half litres of blood from an 8cm deep wound and required hospital treatment.

Donald Gaote-Oueyeya, already serving a life sentence for murdering a 17-year-old in a gang attack in Wandsworth, London, attacked a fellow inmate at HMP Frankland on April 30, 2025, during association time. He used a makeshift weapon from prison cutlery, causing a 7cm neck laceration, 5cm forehead wound, and 2cm finger cut. A prison officer was also injured while intervening. He was sentenced for wounding with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Ian Neasham, aged 64 from Londonderry Village, North Yorkshire, carried out an 11‑year campaign of sexual abuse against young girls, beginning when his youngest victim was aged 10. The offences included multiple rapes and indecent assaults. A victim spoke out in November 2020, triggering a police investigation that gathered evidence from interviews, counselling records, Neasham’s home and his digital devices. He was convicted of 24 charges including nine counts of rape.

Gordon Nicholson attacked his partner on 23 March after she ran out of cash while at a friend's home. He pulled her hair and pushed her out of the house, then kicked her in the back, knocking her to the floor. She suffered two broken ribs and a punctured lung. Nicholson crouched on top of her and strangled her, and asked another person for a knife saying he wanted to 'stab her up'. The victim spent nine days in intensive care and has long-lasting nerve damage.

Hakeem Suleman operated as an illegal money lender between October 2019 and May 2023, making at least 178 loans to approximately 62 people. He usually charged a 100 per cent flat rate of interest, ranging from 0 per cent to 600 per cent in one case. Just over £40,000 was loaned out, with £70,199 repaid and £10,297 in penalty payments applied. A phone seized after his arrest revealed messages and notes relating to loans and payments, including threats and evidence of penalties when borrowers struggled to repay. He had no Financial Conduct Authority authorisation.

John Johns, 30, of no fixed address, attacked a 39-year-old man over the head with a metal pole in a Middlesbrough home on November 1, 2025, leaving the victim bleeding from a gash on his scalp. After the victim called the police, Johns used the pole to barricade himself in the house. Police used force to enter and found Johns lying in bed, appearing calm but sweaty and breathing heavily.

John Robbins, 40, from Tiverton Grove, Hartlepool, was involved in a stabbing on October 21, 2023, at Glastonbury Walk, Hartlepool, with David Halcrow. They punched and kicked a man in his 60s inside a house, threw a blanket over his head, dragged him to the living room, and stabbed him in the thigh twice after Robbins instructed to 'finish him'. The victim lost one and a half litres of blood from an 8cm deep wound and required hospital treatment. Robbins also took part in a vicious assault on April 16, 2023, punching and kicking a man outside a bar after drinking, filming it, causing multiple facial fractures requiring surgery. Additionally, sentenced for a burglary in Hartlepool in March 2023, stealing two guitars worth £2,000.

John Young's Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Suzy, bit a man on the lip on 17 August 2024 at his home on Laburnum Road, Ormesby, during an argument between Young's partner and the victim. The victim required one stitch for a one cm cut. Young pleaded guilty to the offence.

James Hope was involved in a 22-person gang that defrauded vulnerable people across the North East, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire of more than £1 million between May 2021 and August 2024. He was convicted of conspiracy to convert criminal property.

James Metcalfe committed wounding with intent and affray during an incident on June 28, 2025. He admitted the offences and was jailed for 54 months at Teesside Crown Court.

Jamie Latham, 38, from Stockton, was sentenced after taking a leading role in violent attacks on police during disorder in Middlesbrough on August 4, 2024. Around 1,000 people had gathered as part of nationwide unrest. Latham was recorded confronting officers on Borough Road, encouraging others to charge police lines, punching an officer in the face, kicking shields, and pushing against officers. He left the UK the following day and was later arrested at Newcastle Airport after returning. The court heard he had 11 previous offences, including football-related disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.

Jordan Russell Blackburn, a director of a cleaning solutions company in West Yorkshire, co-led the amphetamine manufacturing operation with Stephen Singleton. He used the encrypted EncroChat system. The lab in Husthwaite was raided on 28 April 2020, where Philip Lister and Ryan Beer were producing amphetamine oil. 12 barrels of MAPA precursor were found, with a potential yield worth over £5m. Blackburn was convicted of conspiracy to produce amphetamine after a trial.

Lee Hudson had been drinking for around 12 hours when he attacked a customer in the Ward Jackson pub in Hartlepool after staff refused to serve him. The victim was minding his own business when he ended up on the floor and was bitten to the head, hearing a crunching sound and feeling pain in his right eyebrow. Hudson threatened to bite the victim's ears off. He was arrested at home later and used racist slurs towards a policewoman, later apologising but saying he did not care about the officer's feelings.

On July 14, 2020 at 5.30pm, Simon Allport was driving his black BMW M4 Coupe along Tanton Road, Stokesley, when he drove on the wrong side of the road, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with another vehicle before colliding with a silver Nissan Qashqai and forcing it off the carriageway into a field. The driver of the Qashqai, a 33-year-old teacher and the victim, died later in hospital. An investigation found Allport had been at the Master Cooper public house before the collision and was under the influence of alcohol, over the prescribed limit.

Stephen Henry Singleton, a director of a chemical company in St Helens, was one of the leaders of an amphetamine manufacturing operation based in Husthwaite. He used the encrypted EncroChat platform to communicate. The lab was raided on 28 April 2020, revealing production of amphetamine oil, hazardous chemicals, and 12 barrels of precursor MAPA. The enterprise had the potential to produce amphetamine worth over £5m. Singleton was convicted of conspiracy to produce amphetamine after a trial.

On 1 April 2007, in Silk’s Nightclub in Redcar, drunken Stephen Petch punched 17-year-old student the victim in the face in an unprovoked attack at around 1am, causing two fractures to his lower jaw. The victim spent five days in hospital, underwent surgery, had metal buttons on his teeth, and suffered long-term effects including loss of sensation in his lower lip.

On 13 December 2018, Thomas James McDowell, 26, contacted a man in Thirsk using an unknown number and threatened him, saying 'You're a f****** dead man, you've messed with the wrong family. I want my money' and 'I'm coming for my money'. The victim tried to respond but received a series of text messages demanding £10,000, showing knowledge of his home address, car and registration, and stating 'If I don't get paid today I'm blowing the car up'. McDowell was identified through CCTV purchasing a top-up voucher for the phone used in the blackmail. He was arrested the next day. Clothing seized matched the CCTV. It was revealed McDowell knew the victim and owed him £1,200. The victim's family was forced to leave their home twice around Christmas, causing lasting trauma. McDowell initially denied the allegations but later pleaded guilty.