\n Iain Boddy was part of a group that fired a suspected pump-action shotgun and hurled three petrol bombs at the Burnhope property on Friday, December 5 last year.\n<\/p>\n
\n People were inside the Front Street house, but no-one was injured, Durham Crown Court heard.\n<\/p>\n
\n But no-one from the property agreed to help prosecutors, the court heard.\n<\/p>\n
\n Iain Boddy, 44, jailed for 15 years for his part in a targeted shooting and petrol bombing of a house in Burnhope, County Durham\n<\/p>\n
\n Boddy, 44, of Moule Crescent, Auckland Park, Bishop Auckland, denied possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and arson with intent to endanger life at his trial this week.\n<\/p>\n
\n He was found guilty of both charges on the fourth day of the trial, today, (Thursday, September 10), and sentenced later in the day by Judge Richard Clews.\n<\/p>\n
\n Boddy was cleared of trying to set fire to a property in Broom Hill, Stanley, with intent to endanger life, on Christmas Day last year.\n<\/p>\n
\n Prosecutor Andrew Petterson said firing at a home and trying to set it alight created a high risk of serious injury and disorder.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Petterson quoted senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Neil Fuller, who said the attack appeared to be part of a campaign against a particular person and his “associates”.\n<\/p>\n
\n Boddy has previous convictions on his record, but none for violence in recent years.\n<\/p>\n
\n He has one conviction for possessing an offensive weapon, but that was more than 20 years ago.\n<\/p>\n
\n In 2021, Boddy received an immediate 22-month sentence after admitting he had dishonestly received a stolen caravan while subject to a suspended sentence for an earlier caravan theft.\n<\/p>\n
\n The judge quoted DCI Fuller\u2019s statement, which listed further arson and damage offences, attacks on premises or vehicles, two other shootings and an attempted murder.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Petterson said the early-December attack appeared to have been carefully planned.\n<\/p>\n
\n in mitigation, Calum McNicholas, for Boddy, said there was no evidence the defendant was involved in the other incidents referenced by the police.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr McNicholas said Boddy\u2019s arson and firearm convictions arose from the same incident.\n<\/p>\n
\n He added that while Boddy had offended before, \u201cthere is nothing on his record that comes anywhere as near in seriousness of the offences for which he\u2019s here for today, and not really a single offence of violence\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n Judge Clews said Boddy was part of a group that targeted the Front Street property, firing a gun seven times and throwing three petrol bombs at it.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHappily, there were no serious eventual consequences, but as the jury found, it was intended to endanger life.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s apparent you knew exactly why you were going there.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cExactly what role you took can\u2019t be ascertained.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBut it was a joint enterprise of which you were fully aware.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt turns out it was part of a campaign of intimidation to a person known to police and associates of his.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt was occupied by an associate of that person.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n But the judge said he was sentencing Boddy only for this incident, not the other attacks police were investigating against the apparent target.\n<\/p>\n
\n Boddy must serve up to two-thirds of his 15-year sentence in prison before being released on licence.\n<\/p>\n
\n Durham Police said officers were called to the Burnhope address at about 5.15pm on Friday, December 5 last year, after reports of gunfire.\n<\/p>\n
\n In a statement issued after the hearing the force said: \u201cGlass bottles containing petrol were also thrown at the house and as a result a fire started in the garden of the property, but it was quickly extinguished.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThankfully, no-one was injured.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAn investigation was launched and Iain Boddy was identified as a suspect.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe was subsequently arrested and charged with a number of offences, which he denied.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe wick of the petrol bomb was found to contain the DNA of Boddy, of Bishop Auckland.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cGlass bottles, similar to those that were used to make the petrol bombs, were also found at the 44-year-old\u2019s place of work.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cA jury at Durham Crown Court today unanimously found Boddy guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and arson with intent to endanger life.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe was found not guilty of attempted arson with intent to endanger life in relation to an incident at an address in Broom Hill, Stanley, on Christmas Day.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Hannah Wilson, of Durham Police, said: \u201cThe attack in Burnhope was deliberate and terrifying for residents.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt could easily have ended in tragedy.\n<\/p>\n