Balaclava-wearing man identified by tattoos among four Sunderland rioters jailed

A balaclava-wearing rioter identified by his tattoos and a 21-year-old who posted videos of himself encouraging people to break “every f****** window” on Instagram were amongst the first people to be jailed over violent disorder in Sunderland.

A judge said the defendants had “brought shame on the city” by taking part in an “orgy of mindless, destructive violence and disorder and mayhem” on Friday 2 August.

Newcastle Crown Court heard a planned protest in the city centre “very soon turned into widespread violent disorder” as police were met with “serious and sustained levels of violence”.

As the rioters moved across different areas of the city, a police hub was set on fire, businesses suffered damage, shops were looted, windows were smashed and vehicles were damaged, it was said.

Josh Kellett, who was wearing a balaclava but was identified by his tattoos, was jailed for two and a half years for his part in the riot.

Kellett, also known as Josh Major, was seen on police drone footage throwing stones at officers four times in 45 seconds.

The 29-year-old, of Southcroft, Washington, was identified by an anonymous member of the public who watched a live stream of the riot and contacted police to say they recognised a person who was throwing items at police.

A woman who repeatedly pushed industrial bins at a police line during the disorder was also jailed for two and a half years.

Leanne Hodgson, 43, of Holborn Road, Sunderland, also deliberately ran into an officer and called another one a “f****** black c***”.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that when police saw her early in the evening she was “clearly under [the] influence of alcohol and shouting abuse at officers”.

Later on, an officer described Hodgson “running straight at him and colliding with him”. He said it was “clearly a deliberate act” and when he looked at her afterwards she was “laughing and pointing at him”.

The defendant was identified by police from videos on social media, where she was seen pushing industrial bins towards police, picking up a glass bottle and motioning as if to throw it at officers, and breaking bricks on the ground before throwing them into the crowd to be used as missiles.

The court heard she also threw an object at a parked police vehicle, smashing the windscreen.

In mitigation, the court heard she has “mental health difficulties exacerbated by alcohol problems” and was “ashamed of her actions.”

A 21-year-old who posted videos of himself “roaring encouragement” at rioters to his own Instagram account was jailed for two years.

Bradley Makin, of Simonside Road, Springwell, Sunderland, shared multiple clips of the disorder, including metal beer kegs and poles being thrown at police.

Newcastle Crown Court was told he could be heard in the footage encouraging other males to carry out disorder, shouting “Go on” and “Every f****** window, come on”.

In one clip a man is seen throwing a beer keg at officers and Makin, who was wearing all black with his hood up and the bottom half of his face covered, is heard to say: “Go man, it’s the Olympics.”

The court heard Makin was identified by his Instagram username and arrested at his home by officers who found him asleep in his bedroom with a bag of brown powder, and another bag of white powder, next to him.

In mitigation, the court heard he “didn’t intend to get involved,” and did not post the videos as encouragement but to “let people know what was going on”.

Another man, who was bitten by a police dog after throwing a can at police, was jailed for 26 months.

Andrew Smith, 41, of High Street East, Sunderland, was at the centre of a crowd wearing all black with his hood up during the riot.

A judge was told that when police told the crowd to move back, the defendant started moving backwards slowly before taking a bag containing a can of alcohol from his pocket and throwing it at officers.

He was bitten by a police dog and taken to the ground, resisting throughout as he was being arrested, it was said.

In mitigation, the court heard alcohol misuse was “clearly the source of his difficulty” and he was “ashamed of what he did to his own community."

Sentencing the defendants, Judge Paul Sloan KC, the Recorder of Newcastle, told them: “Business premises of decent, hardworking members of the community were attacked and damaged.

“The cost of making good the damage will be many thousands of pounds, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

The four defendants pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Makin also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and heroin.

Following the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr, of Northumbria Police’s Major Investigation Team, said: “It has been an incredibly difficult week for all our communities who’ve been affected by this unnecessary and senseless violence.

“The scenes witnessed are completely inexcusable – and from the outset we vowed that anybody involved would face the full force of the law.

“Today – barely one week on from the disorder in Sunderland – these four criminals now find themselves in a prison cell. This should act as a clear warning to anyone else thinking of getting involved in violent disorder across our region.

“Our investigation is well underway to identify and detain other suspects believed to have been responsible, and they too will have their day in court.

“I would like to thank our communities who have shown the true spirit of Northumbria by pulling together in recent days, supporting each other and uniting in the face of such appalling division and hostility.

“I’d also like to praise our criminal justice partners and local authorities who’ve worked with us and done everything they can to ensure the wheels of justice have turned swiftly and decisively to put these offenders where they belong – behind bars.”

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