'Cowards' murdered innocent man in his own home

Members of a "cowardly" machete-wielding gang who murdered an innocent man in his own home after falsely believing he had stolen a bike have been jailed.

Three men burst into Jordan Hogg's Middlesbrough home and attacked him in February 2025, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Mr Hogg's family said the 28-year-old father-of-one was "full of life" and they were haunted by his "horrific and inhumane" murder.

The three attackers, their getaway driver and a teenager who acted as look out were found guilty of murder and given life sentences with minimum terms of between 16 and 28 years. The ringleader, Sidney Bashford, fled to France in the aftermath of the attack.

Bashford, 29, ran a drug dealing gang on the Hemlington estate and gave his runners his £3,500 electric bike to use to deliver cocaine and crack cocaine, the court heard.

On the night of 27 February, a friend of Mr Hogg's stole the bike from the teenage defendant Kaiden McIver, who reported the theft to Bashford, Mr Justice Goss said.

Bashford and associates Oliver Connelly and Ryan Moore set out in a van driven by Michael Charville to get the bike back and "punish" the thief, the judge said, but they targeted Mr Hogg who had "done nothing wrong".

Bashford, Connelly and Moore, who were armed with machetes and a knife, hit the door of Mr Hogg's ground floor flat on Ellis Gardens with their weapons and then pushed into his home when he opened it, the court heard.

During the six-second long invasion, Bashford slashed Mr Hogg's neck with a knife while his associates assisted and encouraged him, the judge said.

As the killers fled, Mr Hogg tried to stem the bleeding and ran into the street where neighbours attempted in vain to save his life, the court heard.

The attackers set fire to Charville's van and tried to hide their weapons and clothes in bushes in Fairy Dell Park, but the items were discovered by police.

Bashford got a ferry to Ireland, then to Cherbourg in France where he was arrested, the judge said.

In statements read to the court, Mr Hogg's family said they had been shattered by his killing and been left with an unfillable void.

His mother said he was "full of life" and was "one of those people everyone loved to be around".

She said the offshore oil rig worker was adored by his daughter and he was so proud to be a father.

Her son had his "whole life ahead of him" until he was "viciously attacked in the most horrific and inhumane way in his own home for no reason", she said.

His mother said he was then left "screaming for help" in the street and she was "haunted" by the thought of his "last painful minutes".

The killers had "brutally ended the life of an innocent young man" and their "cruelty and cowardice" would never be forgotten, she added.

Mr Hogg's father, who rushed to the scene and saw his son die, said he felt "angry" at having his son and best friend "robbed" from him, adding: "This has all been unnecessary."

The victim's sister said he was known for his great sense of humour and ability to make people laugh.

"Our family has been left broken and the hole his death has left can never be filled," she said.

The judge said Mr Hogg was an "engaging and fun man" who "everyone wanted to be around" and "made everyone laugh".

The gang claimed they had only meant to slash Mr Hogg's face, but jurors found them guilty of murder in December after a six-week long trial.

Bashford, Connolly and Moore were also found guilty of possessing offensive weapons.

Charville, the gang's getaway driver, refused to attend the sentencing hearing.

The killers, all now of no fixed abode but previously from Middlesbrough, and their sentences were:

• Sidney Bashford, 29, jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years
• Oliver Connelly, 28, jailed for life with a minimum term 23 years
• Ryan Moore, 23, jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years
• Michael Charville, 44, jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years
• Kaiden McIver, 17, who the court was told had been exploited by the gang, sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years

Bashford and Connelly had previously been jailed for four years in 2022 for conspiracy to posses a firearm with intent to endanger life, while Moore was out of prison on licence at the time of the attack, the court heard.

McIver, who soon turns 18, can be named after reporting restrictions were lifted following an application by the BBC and supported by other media.

Det Ch Insp Chris Pringle of Cleveland Police said there was "no doubt" the gang intended to cause serious harm and it "sadly led to an innocent and defenceless man being attacked inside his home".

"Unfortunately, this is the severity of what can happen when carrying a knife," he said.

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