Burglar leapt from court dock to avoid jail

A burglar who jumped out of a court dock and fled as a judge was planning to remand him into custody has been jailed for almost two years.

Brian Curtis, 45, ran away from Newcastle Crown Court on 1 May and was "unlawfully at large" for five days before police arrested him in Byker, the court heard.

He was previously part of a group who stole £3,000 worth of pictures from an apartment complex for the over 50s, with police recognising him from his coat and "distinctive nose".

Curtis admitted burglary and escaping lawful custody. He also pleaded guilty to stealing a bike that he took "with force" when meeting the victim as a potential buyer.

On 3 March 2024, a group of people got into the communal corridors of the residential building in Byker, prosecutor Katie Spence said, and took framed prints of local landmarks and famous people from the walls.

Fifteen days later a police officer spoke to Curtis and saw he was wearing the same jacket as one of the burglars caught on CCTV, the court heard.

The officer looked at the footage again and noticed Curtis's "distinctive nose", Spence said.

He was arrested and released on police bail but, on 25 July 2024, stole a bike he had gone to buy.

Over the next two years Curtis missed several court dates until he finally appeared at the crown court on 1 May.

"During the course of the hearing it became apparent the judge intended to remand him into custody," Spence said, so Curtis, who had 80 offences on his criminal record, "jumped over the dock, ran from the courtroom down the stairs and exited the building" on Newcastle quayside.

He was "unlawfully at large" until 6 May, when he was arrested at a health centre in Byker, the court heard.

In mitigation, Rachel Hedworth said his offending stemmed from drug use which began while he was in care as a child.

The court heard he had not offended between 2012 and 2023, when he was living in Stoke, but began using drugs again when he returned to the North East and became homeless.

Judge Robert Spragg said only Curtis could decide to break the "spiral of offending" and he very much hoped he would do so again.

Curtis was jailed for one year and 10 months.

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