We've rounded up the latest court cases concerning the Tyne Valley heard at Northumberland's Courts. 

The cases appeared in this week's Hexham Courant. 

 

PRUDHOE

A 21-year-old who intended to supply Class A drugs to the value of up to £1,000 has been spared jail.

Liam Fenwick, of Woodhead Road, Prudhoe, was sentenced to 24 months behind bars, suspended for two years, at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to two charges of intent to supply drugs and two counts of possessing drugs.

The court heard Fenwick was stopped on Prudhoe's Front Street in the early hours of the morning on February 10 last year and searched by police officers, who then searched his property.

Prosecutor Helen Towers said that the total amount of drugs found was 8.151 grams of cocaine, valued at £640, and 35 MDMA tablets, valued between £175 and £350. Three doses of LSD were also discovered.

A set of scales, small bags and a cannabis grinder were also recovered.

Newcastle Crown Court was told Fenwick had no previous convictions, but received two reprimands in 2012 for unrelated offences.

Ian Hudson, defending, said Fenwick had "got himself in to drugs" when he was 19, and became addicted to cannabis and LSD.

Mr Hudson said Fenwick had accepted full responsibility and shown remorse.

He said: "He has completely turned his life around."

The court heard Fenwick was in a long-term relationship and had a young step-child, and was the main breadwinner in the relationship.

"He was naive and stupid, but he has changed," said Mr Hudson.

He added: "He would be absolutely destroyed in prison.

"Give him a chance, and his child and family a chance."

Sentencing, Recorder Neil Anthony Haythorne said: "It is, in my experience, quite an unusual case."

The judge told Fenwick he was taking into consideration the fact Fenwick had no previous convictions and his young age when sentencing.

He added: "I am satisfied that your remorse is genuine."

Recorder Haythorne sentenced Fenwick to two years in custody in relation to each of the intent to supply Class A drugs offences, four weeks in custody for possession of a Class A drug, and two weeks for possession of a Class B drug, to run concurrently. The sentence was suspended for two years.

 

HAYDON BRIDGE

A TEENAGER has denied carrying out a racially motivated assault on a woman.

At South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court on March 17, Jordan Armstrong (19), of Tyne View Close, Haydon Bridge, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

It is alleged he assaulted the woman in Corbridge on October 27 last year, and the attack was racially aggravated.

Armstrong is accused of assaulting the same woman on two other occasions, again in Corbridge on October 27 and in Wark on October 8. He denied these two charges too.

He denied a fourth charge of sending a Snapchat video on September 16 to the same woman and its contents were indecent of offensive which caused her distress or anxiety.

Armstrong is due to stand trial on May 14.