Murder victim’s brother jailed for burglary
DOWNWARD SPIRAL ... Clint Kennedy returned to crime after his brother's murder.
A BROTHER of a murdered peacemaker has been put behind bars for burglary.
Clint Kennedy had turned his back on his troubled past but went back to his criminal ways after his sibling, Deka Kennedy, was cruelly killed.
Tragic Deka, 29, was stabbed to death in 2009 when he stepped in to stop Paul Morrison punching and kicking his then girlfriend in the street in South Shields.
Morrison, 25, of no fixed address, was convicted of murder and jailed for life after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, where the judge publicly commended Deka’s bravery.
Deka, who was from South Shields, was later recognised with a ACPO Police Public Bravery Award.
The same court heard yesterday how an upstairs flat at Dacre Street, South Shields, had been burgled and a television, laptop and other property taken while the homeowner was out last August.
When police were called to investigate, they found that Clint Kennedy, 29, had left his phone in one of the bedrooms while he carried out the raid.
Prosecutor Gavin Doig told the court: “Police found a mobile phone had been left behind by the burglars inside the addresss.
“It was found in a bedroom, near where the laptop had been stolen.
“Police analysed the phone and it was Mr Kennedy’s.”
The court heard an entry in the mobile’s directory listed as “Ma” was the for Kennedy’s mother’s phone.
Kennedy admitted burglary and a charge of handling stolen goods in relation to a laptop.
His barrister, David Combe, told the court how Kennedy, who is due to become a father, had done well on a rehabilitation order in 2008.
But he said: “The downward spiral for Mr Kennedy began again, tragically, in 2009 with the death of his brother, who was not a person known to the police.
“He was murdered when he intervened in a fight as a peacemaker.
“The person responsible for that was dealt with by the courts and sentenced to a minumum 16 years.”
Mr Recorder Bryan Cox said he was not satisfied Kennedy was “presently motivated to change” his ways.
Speaking from the dock of the court, Kennedy said to the judge: “I can stand here now and tell you I am a changed man. I’ve got a family on the way.”
But the judge said: “I am not satisfied you are prepared to put your back into it.”
Kennedy, of Copley Avenue, South Shields, was jailed for 18 months.
Twitter: @shieldsgazette
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Friday 24 May 2013
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