A "violent offender" who carried out two unprovoked attacks within the space of a couple of hours in Sunderland city centre has been put behind bars.
Ethan McLoud committed two "horrific" attacks on January 29 this year with one of the incidents being caught on a body-worn camera. The 24-year-old carried out the incidents on Vine Place and in Mowbray Park between 6.45pm and 8.15pm.
McLoud randomly assaulted his victims and verbally abused them before fleeing on foot and was eventually caught after an on-duty neighbourhood warden from Sunderland City Council captured his offending on body-worn video. He was then arrested and charged.
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McLoud, of no fixed address, appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Thursday, February 9, and was jailed for one year. He had pleaded guilty to affray and a public order offence.
The court heard that moments after McLoud's second disturbance in Mowbray Park, CCTV operatives working in a Washington-based control room raised the alarm and alerted neighbourhood police officers working in the city centre. An investigation was then launched by police and images were circulated before a PC on patrol in the city centre recognised McLoud from captured footage.
Speaking after the sentencing, Sergeant Maria Ord of Northumbria Police, said: “These incidents were shocking with both victims attacked in the city centre. As soon as we were made aware of these quick-fire incidents, our priority was to identify the attacker and we knew that a potentially dangerous offender needed to be stopped.
“It was a real team effort to pursue justice, with the city centre neighbourhood policing team spending a huge amount of time trawling CCTV footage alongside partners in a bid to track the suspect’s movements. Thankfully that hard work was worth it after an on-patrol officer who had been involved in the investigation saw the circulation and immediately recognised McLoud out in the community."
She added: “I would like to thank everyone involved in this case. There is absolutely no place for violence in our communities and I am pleased that he is now behind bars. Together with our partners, we will continue to do all we can to tackle perpetrators like this and ensure our region remains as safe a place as it possibly can be to live, work and visit.”
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said that "considerable" efforts are being implemented to keep communities safe such as increasing city centre patrols in Sunderland.
She said: “These were horrific incidents for the victims, and I am so glad that a real community effort with quick thinking and quick action resulted in a violent offender being taken off the streets of Sunderland and put behind bars.
"I know people read about incidents like this and it impacts how safe they feel in public spaces, so I want to reassure people there is considerable work happening to keep our local communities safe. From installing a help point in Mowbray Park to upping city centre patrols, we’ve secured funding to invest in a range of ways to make improvements to fight and prevent crime and improve overall feelings of safety.”
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