Masked Leeds gang pointed gun at terrified women in bungled wrong-home drug-debt raid
They had axe and pistol pointed towards them after front door was kicked in
Two innocent women were left terrified after a masked gang burst into their home to recover a drug debt, only to find they had targeted the wrong property.
Described by a judge as “stupidity”, the bungling intruders kicked down the door of the property at Micklefield in the middle of the night and confronted the shocked residents, before realising their error and fleeing.
Purely by chance the women saw the only gang member not to be wearing a face covering - Christopher Silverthorne - hours later and which led to his arrest.
The 24-year-old was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week after admitting aggravated burglary with an intent to cause GBH, and possessing an offensive weapon.
Prosecutor Carmel Pearson said it was in the early hours of the September 8 when Silverthorne and two others began kicking their way into the home.
The incident was captured on their Ring doorbell camera. A large dog in the house began to bark at the intruders and the two women came to the top of the stairs, having been woken by the smashing noises.
A man wearing a balaclava entered and began making threats, followed by two others.
One of the women had a gun pointed towards her, while the the others carried an axe and a knife. Eventually realising it was the wrong property, they left.
The women were left so traumatised that the police officers who arrived shortly after took them to stay at a hotel for the night.
But in what the judge called an “amazing coincidence”, the women then spotted Silverthorne at the hotel. He was arrested.
In a victim impact statement, read out by Ms Pearson, the women said they suffered from anxiety and depression, have flashbacks and no longer feel safe in their own home.
Mitigating for homeless Silverthorne, Lauren Smith said he “fully accepted” his part and while he was carrying a weapon - including the axe at one point - he did not threaten the women.
She said he had a difficult childhood, has ADHD and had become involved in dealing drugs which led to his involvement in the break-in.
The judge, Recorder David Gordon, told Silverthorne: “They [the two women] were entirely innocent.
“It was a case of mistaken identity. You were at the wrong house because of you and your co-offenders’ stupidity.”
He gave Silverthorne a sentence of six years and nine months.
Neither of the the other two intruders have been identified.