Drugged-up man attacked Hartlepool home and man at random while 'out of his head'

A drugged up man attacked a random home and its occupant while “completely out of control” after over self-medicating.
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Sam Brownless, 30, from Hartlepool, has been jailed for more than two years for two frightening incidents on the same day when he was “out of his head” on street bought painkillers.

He first started attacking a home where he did not know the residents by kicking and punching the back door and windows in the middle of the afternoon on October 23 this year.

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Teesside Crown Court heard he threw a drain cover through a window, shattering it, before trying to climb inside.

Sam Brownless.Sam Brownless.
Sam Brownless.

The man, who lives there and was with his partner and mother at the time, stopped him but in doing so Brownless grabbed the man’s hand and tried to pull him out.

He caused a nasty cut to the man’s hand needing six stitches.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said: “All three of them were quite rightly frightened by what was going on.

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"They had no understanding whatsoever of why you were there and doing what you were doing, and they were scared.”

Teesside Crown Court.Teesside Crown Court.
Teesside Crown Court.

Brownless fled the address but aggressively confronted two more strangers in the street near some shops.

He approached a man and woman with clenched his fists clenched and “wild eyed”, the court heard.

Brownless asked if they were going to inform on him to police and said words to the effect of: “I don’t care if you’re male or female I’m coming for you.”

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When the police attended and arrested Brownless he continued being aggressive, spitting at them, and injured himself by banging his head on the police car window.

While being taken to hospital by ambulance he kicked out at paramedics and spat at them.

Brownless, of Rockpool Close, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to criminal damage, wounding, affray and assaulting an emergency worker.

Paul Cleasby, mitigating, said his client had been self-medicating with street drugs for leg pain after being in a serious road accident.

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Mr Cleasby said: “Through me Mr Brownless apologises for the distress that he has caused and the anxiety that must have followed.”

Jailing Brownless for two years and 17 weeks, Judge Carroll said: “You were completely out of control and frankly out of your head on non-prescription drugs.”

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