Two Men Sentenced for Delivery Driver Assault in Sunderland

Two men have been jailed for their roles in an assault in Sunderland which left a man with serious head injuries. On the morning of Tuesday, December 16, a delivery driver was delivering packages on Stannington Gardens when a car has pulled into the street and parked nearby.

Forty-two-year-old Michael Gill, also known as Bobby, has then climbed into the victim’s vehicle and started to drive away with the intent to steal it and its contents. When the delivery driver has ran towards the vehicle to attempt to stop it being stolen – Gill has driven the car into the man, running him over, and then driven off.

Waiting in Gill’s vehicle was 43-year-old Gary Rarity, who swifty climbed into the driver’s seat, also then driving off. Both Gill and Rarity fled the scene leaving the victim, a man in his 50s, lying in the middle of the road with life-threatening head injuries.

He spent a week in intensive care and has only recently been discharged from hospital with ongoing support after being left with permanent damage from the attack. The vehicle was subsequently found abandoned on Aysgarth Avenue.

Enquiries later revealed the pair had met up nearby to transfer the stolen packages from the victim’s car to theirs. Within days, both Gill and Rarity were arrested and questioned, but both denied any wrongdoing.

However, within days, they were both charged with a slew of offences in connection with assault. At Newcastle Crown Court in April, Gill, of Cairo Street, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, theft, driving whilst disqualified and driving with no insurance.

Rarity, of Brick Garth, Houghton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft, driving whilst disqualified, and driving with no insurance. On Wednesday, June 10, Gill was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison.

He received a further four year and nine and a half month driving ban – as he was already disqualified from driving at the time the offences took place. Today (Tuesday), Rarity was sentenced to seven months in prison and handed a two-year and 10 week driving ban.

Leading the investigation was Detective Inspector Ash Loader, from Northumbria Police’s Major Investigation Team (MIT). Speaking after today’s sentencing, he said: “First and foremost, my thoughts are with the victim in this case who was targeted as he was just going about his job.

“No-one should be subjected to this kind of assault and since we first received the report we’ve been working hard to bring those responsible to justice. “Thanks to a thorough investigation and overwhelming evidence, which included hours of CCTV footage, Gill and Rarity were left with no option but to plead guilty – saving the victim the need to re-live his experiences through a trial.” Det Insp Loader added: “Using a vehicle to carry out an act of violence is completely unacceptable, and this case is a stark reminder of the lifelong consequences of what can happen when a car comes in contact with a human being.

“We are committed to cracking down on those who flout the law through dangerous driving and violent behaviour and will do all we can to ensure offenders are held accountable and have their day in court.” Share