Three heavily convicted men who attacked and robbed a 15-year-old boy while they were out from prison on licence have been jailed.
David Peter Ingram and Benjamin Benstead, both 31, and Jordan Lee Howey, 26, targeted the youth as the boy was walking home from football practice in Gateshead in December 2024, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
The men all lived at the same hostel in Gateshead at the time.
Ingram and Benstead both pleaded guilty to robbery and assault, with Ingram admitting the attack was racially aggravated. Howey had denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of robbery and assault.
The victim had got off a bus and was walking home in the Bensham area when he was attacked by the three men at about 20:30 BST on 11 December, prosecutor Ian Cook said.
He was pinned against a gate as they circled him and took his backpack before one of the men pressed an object, which he believed to be a knife, against his throat, Mr Cook said.
The youth managed to flee but was chased down and repeatedly punched, with Ingram shouting racist abuse as he clasped the boy between his legs and repeatedly elbowed him in the head, the court heard.
The men stole the boy’s headphones and hid them in the bathroom of the hostel they were all living at, Mr Cook said.
In a statement read to the court, the boy said he was “shocked” and left “scarred” and fearful of leaving his home.
Ingram, who had 31 offences on his criminal record, was out on licence at the time having been jailed for 11 years in 2019 for assault and aggravated burglary, the court heard.
Benstead, who had 56 offences on record against him, had been jailed for six years in February 2022 for robbery and possession of a bladed article, Mr Cook said.
Howey, with 33 offences against him, had been released partway through a four-year jail term imposed in 2023 for assault and throwing a corrosive liquid with intent, the court heard.
All three had since been recalled to prison with Ingram not due for release until 2030, Benstead in February 2028 and Howey November 2026, the court heard.
Recorder Andrew Latimer said it was “three grown men chasing a teenager at night” and the boy was left with bleeding to his head.
It would have been a “frightening incident” for the boy and it was fortunate he was not more seriously injured, the judge said.
Ingram and Benstead both pleaded guilty to robbery and assault, with Ingram admitting the attack was racially aggravated.
Howey had denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of robbery and assault.
Ingram was jailed for three years and two months, Benstead for three years and nine months, and Howey for four years and two months.
