Brothers in court – North East siblings who committed crimes and faced the penalty together

These brothers all appeared in the dock after joining forces to commit crimes.

Brotherly love can form a strong bond but some have worked together to break the law, leaving them both facing punishment.

From burglary to criminal damage and even attempted murder, these siblings committed acts of violence or theft.

Their joint actions left victims with serious injuries, or facing the bills to pay for their criminal damage.

Here are brothers who have all been sentenced in North East courts this year.

Alnwick Gardens love triangle stabbing

A raging lover tried to murder a woman he was having an affair with and his brother went along tp help in the attack.

Brett Fenwick had been seeing Louise Pearce behind the back of Gareth Mallaburn but became angry when she failed to leave the father of her children.

A court heard the two men were both kitchen porters at Alnwick Garden at the time, where Louise also worked, as a cleaner.

After drinking heavily, Brett 36, of Lower Barresdale, Alnwick, and his brother, Blaine, 25, also of Lower Barresdale, Alnwick, turned up at Louise and Gareth’s home in Alnwick looking for trouble.

They barged into the house and Brett, supported by Blaine, ended up knifing Gareth in the neck.

When he fled, bleeding profusely, Brett then launched a shocking, sustained knife attack on Louise, acting “like a man possessed”.

She was lucky to survive her terrible injuries after the attack on Boxing Day night in 2018 and has been left scarred for life, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Brett, who admitted the attempted murder of Louise and was found guilty of wounding with intent on Gareth, has been locked up for 25 years while Blaine, convicted of wounding with intent on Gareth, got 10 years.

Estate agents shot at in revenge attack

Two brothers opened fire on an estate agents in a revenge attack after they were told they were being evicted for not paying their rent.

Joshua and Brandon Maas had moved into a home at Trinity Square, in Gateshead town centre but after two months living there had failed to pay any rent.

As a result, Carousel Estate Agents issued eviction proceedings and they were served with a notice informing them what was happening.

Within just over three hours of the notice being posted through their door, they drove to the estate agents’ office and shot seven pellets through the window from an air pistol, leaving passers-by terrified.

Newcastle Crown Court heard they then drove to a location two miles away and shot holes in a car bearing the estate agents’ logo.

In total, they caused more than £5,000 of damage and left staff at the company in fear.

Joshua Maas, 24, of Bamford Terrace, Palmersville, North Tyneside and Brandon Maas, 19, of Collingwood Court, Washington, both admitted affray and criminal damage in relation to the attack in September 2018.

Joshua was jailed for 12 months and Brandon was sentenced to nine months suspended for 18 months with a three month electronically monitored curfew for three months between 9pm and 7am. Joshua was also banned from driving for two years.

Judge Tim Gittins said the brothers had become “angry and frustrated” as there had been issues with paying their rent due to problems with their benefits and there had also been “trouble with neighbours”.

Crack-cocaine habit started during ‘lockdown boredom’

Two brothers who began taking crack cocaine to “ease lockdown boredom” were caught going on a spending spree with a stolen bank card.

Craig Woods claimed to have found the debit card, which had been stolen from a car, in Blyth Market Place before he and his sibling Dylan decided to use it to buy goods from four shops in the Northumberland town.

The pair managed to spend £110 during their early morning shopping trip before the police were called and they were subsequently identified by CCTV and arrested.

Steve Chambers, representing both men, told a court that they had started taking crack cocaine because of boredom during lockdown and committed the offences to fund the habit.

Craig, 31, of no fixed abode, and Dylan, 23, of Gladstone Street, Blyth, both pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud.

Stephen Davies, prosecuting at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, said the brothers used the stolen card four times between 5.40am and 9am on June 12 this year.

Magistrates gave Dylan a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and Craig a 12-month community order. Both men were ordered to pay £55 compensation each to Barclays Bank.

Builders caught burglars in the act

Builders working on the renovation of a Gateshead pub delivered their own “local justice” when they caught two brothers burgling it.

Michael and Christopher McIlwee sneaked into Nine Pins, on Saltwell Road in January this year, and helped themselves to alcohol, a tip jar and a bag full of the workers’ tools.

But, they were caught not long after by the builders at the bar, who decided to deliver their own justice and left one of the men with a broken nose and another with an injury to his thumb, a court was told.

However, it didn’t stop the two of them getting arrested and being charged with the burglary a few days later.

Michael, 34, of Pulman Court, Gateshead, appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court and was jailed for eight weeks after admitting one count of burglary of a non-dwelling.

Christopher, 32, of Denmark Street, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to the same charge and was given a 12-month community order.

Twins in machete violence

Twin brothers avoided jail following a brutal machete attack on a “bully” who was left with blood pouring from his head.

Robert and Leslie Cheek “finally snapped” when they came across a man who was goading them and armed with a knife.

A court heard how the trio had history with the victim previously stabbing one brother and slashing the other.

Tom Mitchell, prosecuting, said the brothers were walking along Chiswick Gardens in Gateshead on July 12 last year when they got into an altercation with the victim, who was stood in a front garden of a family member’s home.

CCTV footage played at Newcastle Crown Court showed the brothers exchanging words with the victim from the outside of the premises.

The 44-year-olds then enter the garden where Leslie picks up a machete from the floor before passing it to Robert who begins waving the weapon in the direction of the victim.

The pair then carry out a sustained attack with the machete before taking him to the floor where they pepper him with kicks and punches in front of horrified witnesses.

Robert of Chiswick Gardens, Gateshead, and Leslie, of Mayfair Gardens, Gateshead, were quickly arrested and charged with unlawful wounding and being in possession of a bladed article which they later admitted in court.

Judge Penny Moreland sentenced the brothers to 16 months in prison suspended for two years for the unlawful wounding and five months for being in possession of a bladed article, which will run concurrently.