Teesside Magistrates' Court Sentencing Results

Thomas Buckworth's one-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was presented to a veterinary practice on 5 November 2025 emaciated and close to death. The vet reported that the puppy made a haunting howling noise, had fixed eyes and gasping almost agonal breaths, was wet, had mites on her head, pressure sores, and matted dry faeces in her coat. The puppy was euthanised to end her suffering. A post mortem found a diffuse reduction in muscle mass and lack of visible body fat, likely caused by prolonged malnutrition.

Alex Wood was charged with 33 shoplifting offences involving goods with a combined value of over £5,000, mainly from stores at Cleveland Retail Park. He was remanded in custody and appeared at Teesside Magistrates Court on 14 September 2026, where he was jailed for 44 weeks and made subject to a five-year criminal behaviour order.

Connor Bradshaw used dogs to hunt and injure wild animals and posted photographs on social media showing dead deer and hares. He was charged with six counts of hunting a wild mammal with a dog and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Derek Lane shared responsibility for three neglected Jack Russell Terriers in Grangetown. The dogs had severe skin disease, fur loss, and overgrown nails; one was blind and had to be put to sleep. Lane admitted joint responsibility but declined to be interviewed by the RSPCA.

Irene Pallent neglected three Jack Russell Terriers at a property in Grangetown. The dogs suffered acute fur loss, overgrown nails, and severe skin disease for at least six weeks. One elderly dog was nearly bald, blind, underweight, and had to be put to sleep. Pallent shared responsibility for the dogs with her partner and son.

Stuart Pallent shared responsibility for three neglected Jack Russell Terriers in Grangetown. The dogs suffered from untreated skin disease and other issues; one had to be put to sleep. He told an inspector that he, his mother, and her partner all shared responsibility for the dogs.

On 4 August 2024, during widespread far-right disorder in Middlesbrough town centre, Carl Sharp, a 22-year-old milkman, threw two bricks through the glass door of the Red Lantern Chinese takeaway on Parliament Road. He was filmed laughing and applauding as wheelie bins were set ablaze and projectiles were hurled at police cordons. He also threw a missile at police officers. The unrest, involving around 1,000 people chanting 'take our country back', resulted in £600,000 worth of damage and significant policing costs. The takeaway was later burgled by others. Sharp was identified via CCTV and arrested.

On August 18, 2025, Tracey Mackey, 57, from Fabian Road, Eston, drove a Citroen car while over the legal alcohol limit and dangerously, ploughing into the victim's brand-new Kia Sportage at a junction on Fabian Road. The collision left the victim with a broken wrist and his car written off. CCTV captured the incident where Mackey's vehicle hit the victim's car with significant force, sending both vehicles careering into the road.

Michael Todd, a 54-year-old resident of Middlesbrough, was known to Middlesbrough Council for regular public drug use and frequently caused disturbances by begging in the town centre. He was verbally abusive towards council staff. The criminal behaviour order prohibits him from entering the shopping area of Middlesbrough town centre, begging, or sitting on the ground outside licensed premises, food outlets, or cash machines.

Diane Kenvyn and Ellissa Kenvyn failed to address the poor condition of four dogs at their property in Middlesbrough. An RSPCA inspector visited on 10 December after welfare reports and found the dogs underweight, with ribs visible, in filthy conditions smelling of faeces and urine. A vet stated the dogs had been caused unnecessary suffering for at least six weeks through failure to investigate poor body condition and provide a suitable diet. One dog was severely anaemic, required hospitalisation, intravenous fluids and a blood transfusion, and vomited pieces of what appeared to be a fabric lead.

Ellissa Kenvyn, with Diane Kenvyn, failed to address the poor condition of four dogs at their property in Middlesbrough. An RSPCA inspector found the dogs underweight, in poor bodily condition, and living among an old mattress in a filthy outbuilding. A vet said the dogs had suffered for at least six weeks because their dietary needs and protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease were not met. One dog required a blood transfusion; another passed the remains of a plastic dog food wrapper.

Mohammed Tariq Tofiq sold counterfeit cigarettes to undercover trading standards officers on three separate occasions while working at a Hartlepool shop. He also had counterfeit hand-rolling tobacco with a view to selling it. The premises was made the subject of a Closure Order in November 2025 following the illegal sales.

Martin Booker ran a rogue waste site on unregistered land near Saltburn, burning dumped waste and ignoring repeated warnings from the Environment Agency. An inspection in February 2022 found a large pile of rubbish including fridges, washing machines, shopping trolleys, vehicle parts and signs of burning. After some waste was cleared by May 2022, Booker resumed dumping, and further waste including a pram, a three-piece sofa suite and a TV was discovered by October 2022. By January 2023 the site was still piled with burning waste. Booker denied responsibility and blamed fly-tippers, but council evidence showed him in a scrap van in Saltburn in October 2023. He later pleaded guilty to three charges of dumping waste without the proper environmental permits.

Christopher Hobaiter, a landlord of Hartburn, Stockton, owned a house in Middlesbrough, near Teesside University. Deadly carbon monoxide was leaking from a gas fire with a back boiler in the living room. Windows in the ground floor had been sealed and could not be opened, while ventilation had been jammed. Health and Safety Executive inspectors noted the tenant could easily have been killed by the fumes.