Woman and child asleep in Trimdon home when shotgun fired

Aaron Maddison was the subject of a police investigation into an armed robbery at a Trimdon fish and chip shop at the time that he committed the firearms offence at the house in nearby Trimdon Station, on the morning of Sunday, November 13, last year.

Durham Crown Court heard that the female householder who lives with her young daughter, was awoken by a banging at the door in the early hours that morning.

She answered the door to her ex-partner and allowed him in to sleep on the sofa, and then went back to bed.

Matthew Bean prosecuting, said at about 7.30am she was awoken by her daughter, sleeping next to her, after she heard a loud bang.

She went downstairs, where her ‘ex’, who was still on the sofa, told her he thought the window had been put out.

Read more: Trimdon man accidentally drove into ex-partner as she held their child

On checking, the woman discovered the middle of three panes in the window had been put out, and she noticed small black marks on the adjoining panes.

Mr Bean said the shaken woman told her ‘ex’ to leave and she gathered her things to go to her mother’s home with her daughter.

She returned to her property with her mother to check the damage, which resulted in an £850 bill to replace the window.

Police were called and a firearms examiner was brought in to assess the damage and footage from CCTV in the area.

He confirmed it appeared that a full-length shotgun was used to inflict damage to the window.

Maddison was identified as the suspect and he was quickly arrested and charged with possessing a firearm when prohibited for five years, following a previous conviction, in 2019, plus using a firearm with intent to cause a fear of violence.

The 31-year-old defendant, of May Crescent, Trimdon Station, who made no comment to police questions when interviewed on November 16, initially denied the offences, but later changed his plea to guilty.

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He was also charged with robbery following the earlier incident, which took place at the Trimdons Fisheries, in Church Road, Trimdon, on August 26, 2020.

Maddison and co-accused Jack Bruce, of Laburnum Crescent, Trimdon Station, wearing makeshift face coverings, entered via the rear door of the premises as the owner was cashing up the weekly takings, with two female staff members still present, one about to go home with her two children.

The two intruders, both carrying metal poles, snatched a bag containing almost £5,000, from the owner, and left also by the rear door.

Both defendants had been seen in the vicinity of the premises earlier that day and both were known to the staff.

Their names were given to police and, upon arrest, the shop owner picked them out both in an identity procedure.

He said they had merely turned the hoodies, in which they had been seen wearing earlier, inside out, when they committed the robbery.

Maddison denied the charge of robbery but was found guilty following a trial in May.

Bruce, 25, admitted it in proceedings at the court in March.

He received a 40-month jail term for the robbery as part of a wider 97-month sentence for other offences, not involving Maddison.

Impact statements were read to the court from victims of both crimes.

The woman living in the house where the window was shot out, said she has lived in the village all her life and has issues with no-one.

She said she knew she was not the target of the shooting, but she said things are “getting worse and worse” in the village, adding that someone is going to end up being killed.

The fish and chip shop owner said it was the third time someone has taken, or attempted to take money from the premises.

He said that having £4,800 taken meant he could not afford to pay the staff wages and other costs, but he pledged to remain in business not just for himself, but for his staff and their families who rely on the income.

Zaiban Alam, in mitigation, said the defendant apologises for the firearms incident, of which he is “ashamed”.

She said his explanation was that he is still friends with the male sleeping at the house that night, but he was heavily under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time.

Miss Alam said alcohol and drugs have “blighted his life”, but, while in custody, he has worked with the agencies available to detoxify himself, but she added: “It’s a work in progress and Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

She said that, given his record, the robbery was not an aberration at the time, , but it was over quickly with no violence being used.

Judge Jo Kidd said the offences of 2020 and 2022 mark an “escalation” in the defendant’s offending.

She said that while posing a “high risk” of causing serious disorder at the time of the offences, she said she would step back from passing an sentence on Maddison as a "dangerous offender".

The judge imposed consecutive sentences of five years and seven months for the firearms offences, and four years for the robbery, totalling 115 months, or nine years and seven months.

Speaking after Wednesday’s (October 18) sentencing hearing, Detective Inspector Darren Wild, of East Durham CID, said: “This was a terrifying incident for the woman and her young child which could have had tragic consequences.

“Maddison is a dangerous individual and we worked quickly to identify him, arrest him, get him off the streets and put before the courts.

Read next:

Victim of Trimdon Station burglary to sell home

Shildon man breached restraining order, attacking 'ex' in her own home

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"I am pleased he is now behind bars where he can cause no further harm to our communities.”

As part of his sentence, Maddison was also made subject of a ten-year restraining order prohibiting him going to the targeted fish and chip shop, in Church Road.

But Judge Kidd said there was no request for a restraining order arising from the shooting incident.