Hartlepool man who twice tried to strangle then partner and assaulted policewoman sentenced at Teesside Crown Court

A court learned how Lewis Theasby, 21, twice tried to strangle his then girlfriend during arguments after he wet the bed when drunk.

Teesside Crown Court heard on one occasion he kicked her, pushed her face into the mattress for several seconds so she was unable to breathe, and put his hands “tightly around her neck”.

Just a few nights later in November last year, the same thing happened again when Theasby pushed the victim on the bed and pressed his knee on her neck.

He also headbutted her, said prosecutor Matthew Hopkins.

A year earlier in October 2021, Theasby, of Nottingham Walk, Hartlepool, kicked out at a policewoman when he was arrested during an incident in Kimberley Street.

After being placed in a van he uttered threats and kicked the officer in the thigh causing her pain and to feel anxious about bumping into Theasby again while on duty.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of intentional strangulation, two of assault by beating and one of assaulting an emergency worker.

Gary Wood, mitigating for Theasby, said he lacked maturity and had been diagnosed with conditions including ADHD and depression.

Alcohol was also an issue, but he had served the equivalent of an 18-month prison sentence and achieved a number of certificates while in custody on remand.

Recorder Paul Reid told Theasby: “Your behaviour over the last 18 months has been absolutely appalling.”

He was given a three-year community order with supervision, 200 hours’ unpaid work, 60 days’ alcohol abstinence, an alcohol treatment programme.