Trio who threatened children in month-long reign of terror are jailed

Three men are behind bars after a terrifying month-long burglary spree during which children as young as three-years-old were threatened with knives

Clayton Ophield, Brandon Parker, and Rodney Smith carried out fifteen separate offences throughout June 2023, primarily breaking into houses to steal jewellery, cash and cars.

On several occasions the trio armed themselves with machetes and hammers, which they used to smash patio doors and threaten their victims.

Their campaign of thefts began on June 5, when a blue Ford Fiesta was stolen from the Middlesbrough area and later used as one of their getaway vehicles, travelling on false number plates and frequently captured on CCTV.

They continued to commit offences in the Silksworth area of Sunderland, and a week later were interrupted during a burglary in Easington when the sleeping 85-year-old occupant of the address was woken by loud noises from downstairs.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw a man dressed all in black, who quickly fled the scene in a nearby waiting car.

On June 14, after having already stolen a Hyundai Tucson from another address earlier in the day, the suspects smashed their way through the glass patio door of an address in Murton armed with machetes and wearing balaclavas.

They confronted the occupant and her three young children, threatening to ‘cut their heads off’ unless she handed over money and jewellery, later leaving the house with around £300 in cash.

The mother and children were unharmed but left extremely shaken by the ordeal.

Between June 16 and 21, six more incidents took place, amounting to over £3,000 stolen cash, a stolen Seat Ibiza, every downstairs window of an address being smashed with bricks, and a man being assaulted inside his own home.

Two further burglaries were attempted on June 23 and 28 but were aborted when the suspects were interrupted by occupants at one address, and scared away by a German Shepherd dog at another.

A lengthy investigation involving many hours of CCTV footage, forensic evidence recovered from crime scenes, and interviews with suspects was carried out by detectives to identify the individuals involved.

Twenty-two-year-old Clayton Ophield, of Baldwin Street, Easington Colliery; Brandon Parker, 23, of South Hetton Road, Easington Lane, and Rodney Smith, 25, of Windermere Road, South Hetton, were all charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.

Appearing at Durham Crown Court on Thursday, Ophield was jailed for 11 years, Smith for 10 years and six months and Parker for nine years.

Acting Detective Sergeant Anthony Wild, of East Durham CID, said: “This has been a long and difficult investigation, but the officers involved are pleased to know that the offenders will now be taken off the streets for the foreseeable future.

“Ophield, Parker and Smith were indiscriminate in choosing their victims, even going so far as to threaten children, and didn’t seem to care whether the homes they invaded were occupied or not.

“It goes without saying that nobody should have to live in fear of violence inside their own home

“Given the particularly violent nature of these offences, I hope that this result makes clear the fact that we will not tolerate such behaviour in our community, and will not stop tracking down offenders until we get justice for their victims.”