Nightmare teenage neighbour forced Leeds man out of his home after 24 years
A teenager who made residents’ lives a misery on a Leeds street forced one to leave his home after 24 years.
The man said he was fearful because of Jaden Dolphin, who would ride up and down the street on a motorbike and regularly threatened to “burn him out”.
It culminated in Dolphin and his friends torching the man’s wheelie bin in the middle of the night.
In a separate incident he was caught on camera waving a machete around in the street and shouting threats.
The 19-year-old appeared at Leeds Crown Court where he admitted arson, criminal damage, possession of a bladed article in public and possession of an offensive weapon - a knuckle duster - in private.
Prosecutor Charlotte Noddings said there had been a “history of issues” between Dolphin and two separate residents on Arthington Grove, Hunslet.
Dolphin, who was 17 at the time, would ride his bike and hurl abuse at them, telling them he would torch their homes or “blow their houses up”.
At one point he dented one of the resident’s car, kicking a panel above the wheel arch and smashing his wing mirror, with the repair bill coming to £500.
Six days later, on May 27, 2023, Dolphin had been with friends in the street and again made verbal threats about setting fire to homes.
At around 5am, one of those residents was awoken by the smell of burning plastic. He looked out to see his wheelie bin alight. He was able to extinguish the flames before dialling 999.
CCTV from the street was played and showed one male, not thought to be the defendant, drop a lit item into the bin.
Dolphin, of Arthington Terrace, was later arrested and denied being involved, but accepted the criminal damage to the car.
On March 31 this year, CCTV then caught him in the street brandishing the machete and shouting threats. He was arrested again and during a search of his home, they found the knuckle duster in his bedroom.
In a victim impact statement by one of the residents, he said he did not feel safe in his own home and added: “These incidents have to be stopped.”
One said he had lived there for 24 years but “had no choice” but to leave the area.
Dolphin has no previous convictions.
The teenager told a probation officer that his intention was to only inconvenience his neighbours and was “genuinely remorseful”.
He said the machete incident stemmed from a male coming to the street to issue threats against him.
Mitigating, Joseph Hudson said Dolphin’s “frankness and openness was encouraging”.
He added: “He knows he was wrong and reflected on that. There’s been no further incidents.”
Mr Hudson said Dolphin’s father had left when he was six and that he had “struggled since then”.
Dolphin had an issue with cocaine, was unemployed but harboured ambitions to become a mechanic.
The judge, Recorder Tom Little KC opted not to lock him up, citing his young age at the time.
Instead, he gave him 12 months’ jail, suspended for two years with a nine-month drug-rehabilitation requirement, 20 rehabilitation days with probation, and 150 hours of unpaid work to complete.