Overview
- Jurors deliberated for three days, returning a unanimous guilty verdict for Mark Pearce and an 11–1 majority for Donald Hammond.
- The victim was seized from his street, bound with cable ties and tape, taken to a caravan at Beckside Field, stripped, beaten and forced to record a demand for money.
- Prosecutors presented CCTV of a London‑hired black Mercedes following Pearce’s Land Rover, mobile‑phone mast data placing Hammond in Stockton and DNA linked to items at the scene.
- Hammond said he had never been to Stockton and claimed his phone was left in a friend’s Mercedes, while Pearce said he was racing pigeons and not driving his Land Rover.
- Both men were remanded in custody, pre‑sentence reports were ordered including a psychological assessment for Hammond, and police urged anyone with further information to contact Cleveland Police or Crimestoppers.