Dylan Willis: Teenager jailed for violent disorder in Middlesbrough released on suspended sentence after appeal
Dylan Willis was jailed for violent disorder after the then 18-year-old smashed a restaurant window during unrest in Middlesbrough this summer. A 19-year-old has his sentence switched from 14 months in prison to 14 months in youth detention but two adults fail in their appeals.
Thursday 7 November 2024 23:25, UK
A teenager who was jailed for violent disorder during the UK riots this summer is set to be released after a successful appeal.
Dylan Willis, from Middlesbrough, was sentenced to 14 months' detention for violent disorder after the then 18-year-old smashed a restaurant window during unrest in the city.
Willis was one of four people who had been sentenced in connection with the UK riots this summer to bring a bid to lessen their sentences to the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
Mr Justice Bennathan, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and Lord Justice Holroyde heard each of the sentences was "harsh", "manifestly excessive" and should be reduced.
On Thursday evening, the judges changed Willis's sentence to 14 months in a young offenders institution, suspended for two years, with up to 40 days of rehabilitation activity.
The teenager appeared emotional as the decision was read out via video link from Holme House Prison, in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham.
Appeals from Aminadab Temesgen, 19 at the time of his offence, Ozzie Cush, 20, and Paul Williams, 45, were also heard at the court on Thursday.
Judges decided to alter Temesgen's sentence from 14 months in prison to 14 months in youth detention due to his age.
Temesgen, from Plymouth, was jailed for violent disorder after throwing bottles at police in August.
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Appeals from Cush and Williams however were dismissed by the judges.
Cush, 20, from Reading, was jailed for 10 months after pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker during a protest in central London.
Williams, then 45, was also jailed for two years and two months after he threw metal fencing and a can of beer at police after goading officers during the rioting in Sunderland on 2 August.
The appeals are thought to be the first of their kind relating to the disorder that broke out following the Southport stabbings.
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Unrest broke out in many towns across the UK after the deaths of three girls who were stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.
As of 3 October, the Ministry of Justice said 388 people had been jailed over the violent disorder during the summer.