Evicted brothers shot at estate agents in revenge
TWO brothers opened fire on an estate agents in a revenge attack after they were told they were being evicted for not paying their rent.
Joshua and Brandon Maas had moved into a home at Trinity Square, in Gateshead town centre but after two months living there had failed to pay any rent.
As a result, Carousel Estate Agents issued eviction proceedings and they were served with a notice informing them what was happening.
Within just over three hours of the notice being posted through their door, they drove to the estate agents’ office and shot seven pellets through the window from an air pistol, leaving passers-by terrified.
Newcastle Crown Court heard they then drove to a location two miles away and shot holes in a car bearing the estate agents’ logo.
In total they caused more than £5,000 of damage and left staff at the company in fear.
Liam O’Brien, prosecuting, said it was just before 8pm on September 11, 2018, that the Maas brothers went to the Carousel office in a Mercedes A Class, which Brandon was driving with Joshua in the passenger seat.
A woman with her daughter was walking past the office when at least seven pellets were fired.
Mr O’Brien said: “Fortunately there were no staff inside at the time. The witness heard a loud bang being made and saw the defendants’ car with the passenger side window open. It then sped away.”
The witness called police and seven holes were found in the windows.
They then targeted a lease car bearing the company name, parked two miles from the office. Both passenger side door windows and the rear window were shattered with pellets and there was a hole in the body work.
Five days later, when the Mercedes was searched, the air pistol was found in the car. Tests showed it was classed as a “lethal barrelled firearm”.
Joshua Mass, 24, of Bamford Terrace, Palmersville, North Tyneside, and Brandon Mass, 19, of Collingwood Court, Washington, both admitted affray and criminal damage. Joshua Maas also admitted unrelated offences of dangerous
driving, having no insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, which happened in March this year.
The court heard both brothers have a long list of previous convictions.
Joshua was jailed for 12 months but will be released soon as he has done five months on remand and Brandon was sentenced to nine months suspended for 18 months with a three-month electronically monitored curfew for three months between 9pm and 7am. Joshua was also banned from driving for two years.
Judge Tim Gittins said the brothers had become “angry and frustrated” as there had been issues with paying their rent due to problems with their benefits and there had also been “trouble with neighbours”.
The judge told them: “Both of you, wholly wrongly, thought the estate agents were to blame and they weren’t, but even if they were, your reaction that night in driving to their shop and shooting at the windows, was wholly over the top.
“It was seriously criminal, you can’t simply go around firing weapons, even air weapons, in that way in public.
“There were other members of the public nearby, completely innocent members of the public who saw somebody shooting what they thought was a genuine pistol repeatedly towards that window.
“Your principle aim was to cause damage to the shop in some form of revenge to scare the estate agents when they found out about it, but you caused the passers-by considerable concern and alarm even if you didn’t intend to.
“You terrified passers-by and led to shop staff fearing something else would happen in the days that followed.”
Vic Laffey, for Joshua Maas, said: “There had been a breakdown in communication between the defendant and the agents regarding the tenancy.
“The decision they took was foolish, largely impulsive and very immature.
“It was done in the knowledge that both the office and the car were going to be unoccupied.”
Mr Laffey added that Maas had a difficult childhood, including his mum dying when he was young.
He said he has ADHD, which has been made worse by his use of alcohol and has struggled in custody and is “adamant he never wants to find himself in this situation again”.