Pair raided 'entirely innocent' man's house

Two men who kicked their way into an "entirely innocent" man's home and attacked him after getting the wrong address have been jailed.

Joe Murphy was looking for someone who had stolen jewellery from him when, supported by Alex Wild, he smashed his way into a house in Middlesbrough and punched the victim, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The victim, who was in his 50s, said the attack was frightening and he felt he had no choice but to leave his home of 10 years in the aftermath.

Both admitted attempted robbery, with Murphy, 28, jailed for three years and nine months and Wild, 22, for three years.

The two men knocked on the victim's door at about 22:45 GMT on 25 January and asked if a person they were after was there, prosecutor Shada Mellor said.

When the man said he did not know who they meant, Murphy apologised for disturbing him, shook his hand and walked away, the court heard.

Nearby CCTV footage showed the two then lingering nearby looking at their phones apparently waiting for someone to message them, the court heard.

At 23:00, the victim heard a loud bang at his front door and found the pair had kicked it off its hinges, Mellor said.

Murphy, who was wearing a red-and-white wrestling mask, was "very aggressive" and repeatedly asked the man where the "stuff" was, the court heard.

The victim had no idea what Murphy was talking about, prompting Murphy to punch him in the throat, the court heard.

The attackers then left, Mellor said.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said the ordeal lasted about five minutes but "felt much longer".

He said he was left "shaken and confused" with the "entire incident frightening".

He said he feared he could have been hurt and was also scared of the men returning.

The man said he ultimately made the "difficult decision" to leave his home of 10 years as he felt "no longer safe there".

In mitigation for Murphy, Albany Kidd said two weeks before the attempted robbery, two men in balaclavas had stabbed his brother and stolen two gold chains, which had been a present from his late sister.

Someone gave Murphy the victim's address saying one of the thieves lived there, the court heard.

"Unfortunately" the house actually belonged to someone entirely unrelated to the robbery, Kidd said, adding the information was "either deliberately false or mistaken".

After the victim had told them as much, Murphy then got a message confirming it was the correct address and the man he wanted was inside, Kidd said, leading to the "impulsive decision" to kick the door in.

Judge Stephen Ashurst said the victim was "an entirely innocent man" and the men's raid had had a "very considerable impact" on him.

He said while he understood Murphy was upset about the theft of jewellery and death of his sister, the defendant "decided to take the law into [his] own hands and in doing so caused very considerable alarm and distress".

"You are not the only person to have suffered a bereavement," the judge told Murphy. "Most people, although plainly upset and distressed, do not go on to commit serious crime."

Both Murphy and Wild were subject to court orders at the time, the court heard, with the latter on a suspended sentence imposed just two months earlier for stealing vehicles from a farm.

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