An 18-year-old girl was walking to shops in the West End of Newcastle when she was suddenly grabbed by kidnappers at knife point and dragged into an alleyway, a court heard
A teenage girl was grabbed by a man in a balaclava and dragged with a knife to her throat into an alleyway in a terrifying ordeal.
The 18-year-old victim was walking to a shop when she found herself in the midst of a fight between rival groups which had nothing to do with her on May 8 last year. She was attacked in a case of mistaken identity, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
She saw three men walking towards her on Stanhope Way, in the West End of Newcastle, and one was armed with a pole. They appeared to be shouting at her so she took off her headphones to hear.
Tommy Burns, who had blood coming from his nose and was armed with a pole, then grabbed her and shouted “tell us where they are”. The girl said she didn’t know who they were talking about.
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Claire Anderson, prosecuting, said: “At this point Sean Burns, who was wearing a balaclava, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head up. He had a knife in his hand and he threatened her, saying if she didn’t tell him where they were, he would slit her throat.
“She repeated she didn’t know who ‘they’ were and had just come out of her house. They dragged her to a nearby alley with a knife at her throat.”
The attack ended when a man came around the corner and told them to leave her alone and that it was not her they were after. Tommy Burns replied “it’s f****** you” and ran after the man.
The teenager called her mum to tell her what had happened and after collecting her they saw a “big fight” taking place. When the girl got home, she found there was blood on her hands and clothing from one of the attackers.
She escaped serious injury but had some bruising and was left in pain. She said she was left “petrified” not knowing what was going to happen to her and told how it has had an ongoing impact on her life with flashbacks. She has difficulty sleeping, has been prescribed medication and it has affected her studies, the court heard.
When police attended the scene, they found Sean Burns in a basketball court receiving first aid, having been stabbed in the torso under his armpit, reports ChronicleLive.
Sean Burns, 35, of Arthurs Hill, Newcastle, has 17 previous convictions, including possessing cocaine with intent to supply and wounding with intent, for which he was jailed for eight years. Tommy Burns, 30, also of Arthurs Hill, has 11 previous convictions, including for attempted robbery and was on a suspended sentence for racially aggravated common assault.
They both pleaded guilty to kidnap and Sean Burns got 39 months while Tommy Burns got three years. They were both also given restraining orders for 10 years to protect the victim.
Nick Lane, for Sean Burns, said: “It was an incident of mistaken identity. There was clearly something else going on in the background.” Mr Lane said Sean Burns suffered a life-threatening injury that night. He added that he has a low IQ, PTSD and depression.
Gordon Carse, for Tommy Burns, said: “This entire episode took 42 seconds and he had possession of her for around nine seconds and she suffered no injuries. It happened in the heat of the moment because of mistaken identity.”
