'Thuggish' robbers attacked students on night out
BBCTwo "thuggish" robbers who attacked and threatened students on a night out have been given a "chance" to turn their lives around.
The three victims were heading back to their accommodation in Sunderland in the early hours of 19 March when James Cassop and Wesley Cowell pounced, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
One was hit with a wooden pole, another was punched in the face and the third was threatened into unlocking his phone by the pair, the court heard.
Cassop, 18, and Cowell, 20, both admitted robbery and attempted robbery and were given suspended prison sentences to address their drug addiction issues.
The victims were friends who had been on a night out in Sunderland when they were attacked by the two robbers, who also lived in the city, at about 03:00 BST, prosecutor Emily Sanderson said.
The robbers demanded the students hand over money, phones and wallets, and when the victims refused they were attacked, the court heard.
Roof fall arrest
The first victim was struck with a wooden pole by Cassop before managing to flee to get help from his accommodation's security staff, but the other two were cornered by the pair, the court heard.
One was punched in the face causing bleeding and bruising before the robbers bundled the third victim into an alleyway and pinned him against a wall, Sanderson said.
They grabbed his bank cards but when he said he had no money in his accounts, they ordered him to unlock his phone and show them his online banking, the court heard.
They then grabbed the phone, attempted to do a factory reset and fled, the court heard.
Cassop was arrested nearby still in possession of the wooden pole, while Cowell was caught after he tried to flee over a roof and fell, the court heard.
At the police station, Cassop punched a police officer, Sanderson said.
In December he and two accomplices robbed a convenience shop he was banned from attending, with Cassop putting the shopkeeper in a headlock, the court heard.
'Wake-up call'
In statements read to the court, the three students said the robbery had left them all shaken and reluctant to go out at night.
Recorder Nick Tucker said he was in "no doubt" the pair's "thuggish behaviour had a profound affect" on the victims.
But after hearing of the robbers' extremely traumatic childhoods which led to early drug addictions, the judge said he would give them a "chance" and suspend their prison terms, but it was "no soft option".
Cassop was jailed for three years and Cowell for two years and nine months, both suspended for two years.
As part of their sentences they will have to complete drug rehabilitation for six months, which the judge said many people failed to do, and work with the Probation Service.
Tucker said he had been "impressed" by the positive changes the young men had made to their lives while on remand in HMP Durham, with incarceration having appeared to be a "wake-up call".
The judge said the public would be best protected from the pair reoffending in the future if the robbers continued that positive work with the Probation Service.
He also said both had expressed genuine remorse for the impact of their actions on their victims.
