Middlesbrough thug kicked and stamped on a man’s head

Aaron Johnstone savagely beat the man after his wife tried to force the thug out of their home before handing over £40 in a desperate attempt to get him to leave.

The 29-year-old also attacked his own sister during a drink and drug fuelled assault, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jonathan Gittins, prosecuting, said Johnstone turned up at the couple’s Middlesbrough home in the early hours of the morning claiming their daughter owed him some money before forcing his way into their home.

He said: “The woman saw her husband fall to the floor from one of the punches to the head, he fell onto his face and stopped moving.

“She could see a cut to his eye and blood pooling underneath.

“He continued to hit him and then began to kick him to the head and deliver stamps to the head while he lay there – his wife was convinced that he was dead.”

Police were called and found Johnstone in the home where he was arrested. The defendant headbutted one of the officers when he was taken to the police station.

In a victim impact statement, the victim’s wife said the attack had affected the entire family after he was left with fractures and needed hospital treatment.

Mr Gittins said the defendant assaulted his sister on August 1, 2023, when he attacked her after spending the day drinking and taking cocaine.

He said the defendant started shouting ‘I can’t stand my sister’ before dragging her to the floor by her hair where he repeatedly punched her to the face.

Aaron Johnstone (Image: Cleveland Police)

Johnstone, of Shinwell Crescent, South Bank, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm on his sister.

He also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent on September 25 last year as well as assault on an emergency worker following his arrest.

James Yearsley, mitigating, said his client had turned to drugs as a way of dealing with his father’s death and was using cocaine as a ‘crutch’.

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He added: “He is now clean from cocaine and he hasn’t been in any trouble while he has been in prison and is keen to get home and see his young son.”

Recorder Peter Makepeace KC sentenced Johnstone to six years and eight months for all offences.

He said: “The victim’s wife was begging you to stop; she was screaming for help and was overheard by neighbours who called the police.

“You repeatedly demanded money and she gave you what she had to placate you but you wanted more.”