Alan Raine, 39, of Percival Street, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on April 9. He was fined £80 and was told to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of £30, compensation of £100 and costs of £85.
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Siege dad in trouble for assault on teenager
Mark Pearson with his 18-year-old daughter Tina
HE was once jailed after holding his daughter captive – but 15 years on he’s back in trouble with the law, this time for protecting her honour.
Mark Pearson was locked up for eight years in 1996 after he sparked a two-hour armed siege, which left a police officer fighting for his life.
Armed with a commando knife, Pearson, then 21, stabbed PC Peter Walsh in the thigh, severing a main vein, then returned to his house and kept his partner and three-year-old daughter captive while armed police surrounded his property.
The horrifying ordeal only ended after police negotiators and his mother pleaded with him to give himself up.
But after pledging to turn his life around while in prison, Pearson has been hauled before the court once again – this time for assaulting a teenager who bad-mouthed his daughter, now 18, to his face.
The court heard Tina’s 18-year-old ex Robert Cummings told Pearson he would spread lies about his daughter around the village where they live. Pearson, 36, then pushed Mr Cummings to the ground and punched him in the face.
Speaking from his home in Pelton, County Durham, Pearson said: “Obviously, the biggest regret of my life was that incident where Tina was involved as a child.
“As her dad, I see it as my job to protect her, and that’s what I did when this kid insulted her like he did.”
Pearson, who lives with his partner and five children in The Avenue, admitted assault before Consett magistrates yesterday.
He also admitted possessing three air rifles which were found by police when they raided his home following the attack.
The court heard Pearson spotted Tina and Mr Cummings outside a supermarket cuddling in June.
He approached the pair and told Tina to return home.
Heather Wilkinson, prosecuting, said: “He told her to go home and for Robert Cummings to wait outside the property.
“Shouting could be heard from inside the property. Mr Cummings left and walked to a bus stop when a neighbour approached him.
“Pearson then came out and tried to start an argument.
“Mr Cummings said ‘I felt he wanted to have a fight’. He (Pearson) said: ‘Come home get a shovel and you can dig yourself a hole’.”
It was said that Pearson then pushed the teenager towards the ground over a bench and, as he turned to board a bus, hit him in the face.
But Susan Hanson, defending, said that while Pearson admitted causing the injuries, he did not accept many of the details of what happened.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with supervision and ordered to attend a calm course.
He was also ordered to pay compensation to Mr Cummings of £100.
Man kept gun and bullets to pay off drug debt.
Paul Duffy (right)
A MAN who looked after a gun and bullets in exchange for having a debt written-off has been jailed for five years.
Police found a Webley 8mm pistol and two rounds of ammunition when they raided Paul Duffy’s house, after a tip-off in December.
Officers also discovered a prohibited CS gas spray and a small amount of amphetamine during the search at Warkworth Close, Washington.
Prosecutor Neil Pallister told Newcastle Crown Court the gun, which had been manufactured in Italy and adapted in the UK, was tested by experts who confirmed it had “lethal potential.”
The bullets were live and capable of firing.
Duffy told detectives he was looking after the firearm and ammunition in exchange for a drug debt being wiped out.
The 47-year-old said he had been due to give the CS gas spray to a young woman who was concerned for her safety due to the number of rapes in the Washington area, and wanted to carry it for protection.
Duffy admitted possessing a prohibited firearm, live rounds of ammunition, a prohibited weapon and a small amount of amphetamine.
Judge Brian Forster told him: “Anyone who has in their possession a prohibited firearm commits a very serious offence.
“Parliament has decided that judges must impose a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment in such cases and the reason is clear.
“There must be a deterrent sentence to ensure that people do not take such weapons into their possession.
“Weapons such as this are usually carried in offences of robbery.
“While they are carried there is a real risk of death or serious injury to those who may be the victims of such crime.”
Lee Fish, defending, said Duffy is in poor health and uses a walking stick due to back and leg problems.
Mr Fish said: “He was holding the gun for someone else. He has no previous convictions which involve weapons or firearms.”
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