Overview
- The four defendants were sentenced at Teesside Crown Court on Monday, July 20, 2026, with Morgan Caldwell jailed for life (minimum 30 years), Dominic Hall jailed for life (minimum 28 years), Kole James detained at His Majesty’s pleasure (minimum 26 years), and Daniel Simpson given 14 years.
- Prosecutors say the defendants hunted down and rammed the victims’ car in an Orme Court car park on November 6 last year before using machetes and a BB gun in a sustained attack that left Anthony Dickons fatally wounded and his companion seriously injured.
- CCTV shown at trial and Home Office pathology evidence established that Dickons suffered catastrophic blood loss from a severed main artery and went into cardiac arrest before dying days later.
- The Crown told jurors the assault was a reprisal linked to an alleged £20,000 loss of cocaine and argued reputation and drug-dealing disputes motivated the attack.
- Dickons’s family described overwhelming grief at the hearing and Cleveland Police welcomed the sentences while noting the weapons used were not recovered and investigators faced an especially distressing inquiry.