An abusive son who claimed he slept while he attacked his mother and stepfather has been jailed.
Ross Pippin pulled his mum’s hair and kicked and hit his partner with a saucepan during a drunken outburst at their home in South Shields. His mother asked that he be spared jail in a victim impact statement, but a judge told her only custody could be warranted.
Newcastle Crown Court Pippin went to his mum’s on the afternoon of August 24 last year and was sober and pleasant, but he went out drinking that night and she told him not to go back when he was rang around 11 p.m. But at 1:40 a.m., she was woken up by him at the door. She let him in and told him to go straight to bed and he said he would sleep on the couch.
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She went to bed but then heard him screaming downstairs and asked him to stop. She went back to bed but he started again so she went back downstairs with her partner. The court heard he insulted his mother and then knocked the TV off its stand.
Prosecuting Michael Cahill said: “She said she had had enough and he had to go and her stepfather called 999 and asked for the police. The defendant pushed his mother into the kitchen and punched and kicked his stepfather, his mother tried to bring him down and this resulted in him pulling his mother’s hair.
“Her stepfather tried to protect her and the accused grabbed a saucepan and hit him on the back of the head. His stepfather fell to the ground and was kicked by the accused while he was on the ground, he got up and went to the living room and the accused continued to shout insults at him and hit him a few more times.
“He came out and was followed by the defendant who kicked him to the ground.” Pippin then came back into the house and said to his mother, “I’m going down for this.”
In a victim impact statement, his mother said: “I’m still mad at him and don’t want to see him, but I think a custodial sentence wouldn’t help him. A custodial sentence won’t help. would benefit neither me nor him and I want it to be put on the right track rather than going to prison. I am very sorry that he is going to prison and I want to give him one last chance.
His stepfather added that the assault had affected his job as a bus driver and added: “I think he needs mental health support. When he’s sober he’s a decent man .”
The court heard Pippin had 47 prior convictions, including common assault, battery, breach of a restraining order and criminal damage against his mother. The 31-year-old homeless man pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm to his stepfather, common assault to his mother and criminal damage.
Jailing him for 16 months and imposing a five-year restraining order, recorder Carl Gumsley said: “I can understand a mother not wanting to see her son go to jail. However, you are a violent man, you are a hostile man, especially when intoxicated.
“In my opinion, despite what is said in the mental health report that you wanted to do something about it, you have not given any demonstration of it. The pre-sentence report indicates that you lack the motivation to change and that you disrespect authority.
“Even now, in the pre-sentence report, you say you just offended because you were sleeping somehow, which I consider to be complete nonsense. You pose a risk of serious harm to your family and the public and you have the most appalling record.”
Jennifer Coxon, defending, said: “He is remorseful. He says he was drunk. His instructions are that he had trouble sleeping, he had mental health issues and was doing nightmares, what he was doing that night, he said he cried in his sleep.
“He accepts that he reacted very badly and he lost his temper and basically saw red and couldn’t see through the haze he had. He accepts that he went after the wrong people, people who are there to support him. He is, deep down, a nice young man.”