" A Stockton man has been jailed for five years for his part in a robbery that terrified his 71-year-old victim.
Terrence Wetherell, 38, of Dixon Street, Stockton, was sentenced yesterday after he admitted the robbery charge at Teesside Crown Court on April 20 - the day his trial was due to start.
Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, told the court that Wetherell, known as "Cocky", and another man went to the elderly man's home in Parliament Walk, Stockton, at around 1am on May 14, last year.
Wetherell was a friend of the old man's nephew.
The duo knocked at the door of the sleeping pensioner, but when the 71-year-old did not answer it quickly, the second man became angry.
Mr Dodds said: "As he made his way to the front door, the pair smashed a glass panel in the door allowing them to reach inside and turn the key."
The two men then subjected the pensioner to a terrifying ordeal, before leaving with only some crisps and food from his pantry.
A video statement made by the elderly man was played to the court.
He said: "They roughed me up a bit and searched me. I wet myself I was that frightened."
The victim said he was "manhandled" and "frog-marched" into his bedroom, where the second attacker "pushed him on his bed" and searched for money.
The pensioner described the second man as "aggressive" and like a "wildcat".
But he said that Wetherell was calmer and "half-apologised" when the duo finally left.
Kate Dodds, defending, told the court the victim had accepted that Wetherell was not responsible for his "manhandling", and that he was not the aggressor and was sorry for what had happened.
She said Wetherell deserved credit for sparing the elderly man the "ordeal of reliving the event in court" by pleading guilty.
Judge Peter Armstrong jailed Wetherell - who has "Cocky" tattooed around his throat - for five years, saying the attack in the man's home was "so serious only custody can be justified"."
Both as Guilty as F**k!! Shoot the C**** so they don`t do it again!
Harsh but only what they deserve.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Graham
I am not a Judge. I have not heard the full facts of the case, nor seen the evidence, nor attended the trial, so any comments on the sentence would be based purely on hearsay.
I, at least, am aware of that. Others may not be.
However, going from what the article says "the victim had accepted that Wetherell was not responsible for his "manhandling", and that he was not the aggressor and was sorry for what had happened."
As such, should he have been punished equally as harshly as the person who did commit these actions (the article doesn't give any details of the other person's sentence)?
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Why did they go to his house in the first place?
**** them, I hope they burn in Hell.!
People wouldn`t be so `Forgiving` or `Social worker mode` if it happened to their Grandad or Parents!