Police arrest man after armed robbery at Seaway Mall in Welland
An arrest has been made after an armed robbery at the Seaway Mall in Welland Monday afternoon.
Police say a man armed with a handgun robbed the Peoples Jewellers store at 2:30 yesterday.
The suspect left the area driving a silver Ford Taurus, and that vehicle was later found in the parking lot of a hotel on Lundy’s Lane near the QEW in Niagara Falls.
Officers tracked down the room where the suspect was staying and the Emergency Task Unit and Crisis Negotiators were called in to assist with the arrest.
The male suspect and a woman were arrested without incident when they left the room.
The woman has been released without charges since police believe she did not play a role in the robbery.
27 year old Brandon Jake Raymond Zimmerman of Port Colborne is charged with robbery with a firearm, fail to comply with recognizance of bail, fail to comply with probation order, possession of a weapon contrary to a weapons prohibition order.
The hotel room is still being held by police as they wait for a search warrant.
From killer gunmen to a fake cancer bride: 600 people locked up in Merseyside in 2020
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Murderers, evil rapists, gangland thugs, twisted paedophiles and even bent cops were among the criminals linked to Merseyside jailed in 2020.
Liverpool Crown Court heard many of the cases, involving everything from killer drivers and international drug traffickers to wicked fraudsters who inflicted misery with their shocking scams.
Often victims showed tremendous bravery in facing their tormentors in court, including by giving evidence in trials to ensure justice was done.
Police officers spent months and, in some cases, years working tirelessly to bring these callous criminals to justice for their horrific crimes.
And even when the coronavirus crisis hit, the hard work of court staff, judges and lawyers alike meant the wheels of justice kept turning, with the ECHO’s two dedicated court reporters covering cases throughout.
Below are the details of more than 600 of the men and women put behind bars in 2020.
Helen Dove
(Image: liverpool echo)
Chief bridesmaid-to-be Helen Dove ruined her supposed best friend’s wedding with a string of elaborate lies.
The bizarre and cruel con left a judge scratching his head as it appeared to have no reasonable motive whatsoever.
Dove, of Prescot Road in St Helens, convinced Kimberley Baker to apply for a job within the children’s services department at Warrington council.
The fraudster created 15 fake colleagues to trick Ms Baker into believing she had been hired for her dream job.
Ms Baker eventually busted Dove, 31, when she confronted her after going months without pay.
The pair met at a stable complex in Rainford in the summer of 2017 and Dove learned of Ms Baker’s work dream.
She pretended she worked for the council as an adoption worker, showed her fake ID and convinced her to quit her job at BT.
The bizarre scam left 43-year-old Ms Baker around £50,000 out of pocket due to lost wages.
The scheme left her devastated, paranoid and she was forced to cancel her wedding due to the financial impact.
Dove admitted two counts of fraud and was jailed for two years and eight months.
Abdulla Ahmed
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Abdulla Ahmed claimed demons commanded him to stab a former friend in the neck in a Toxteth street.
The 28-year-old killed Hassan Mohamoud, 29, in Bentley Road on the afternoon of March 28, 2019.
Ahmed, of Devonshire Road, Toxteth, who admitted manslaughter, was found not guilty of murder after a trial.
He was found guilty of wounding with intent after knifing his brother, Awale Ahmed, 24, earlier that same day.
Prosecutors argued Ahmed had “beef” with Mr Mohamoud and sent a text saying: “You watch when I catch you.”
But defence lawyers told a jury Ahmed had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after “hearing voices”.
The Somalian-born killer inflicted “two deep stab wounds” to his brother’s left arm at their shared flat, at around 11am.
He then took a knife and killed Mr Mohamoud when they met up a few minutes' walk from his home, at 1.31pm.
The victim’s grieving parents said they will never again set foot in the street where the “gentle giant” was killed.
Ahmed had undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia, exacerbated by drinking, and had been using cannabis and the drug khat that day.
He was jailed for 18 years, with an extended five years on licence.
Joshua Gibbs
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Online troll Joshua Gibbs threatened to mutilate and kill Liverpool ECHO staff.
The 32-year-old sent “chilling threats” when pulled up over a tweet regarding ex-Wavertree MP Luciana Berger.
Former ECHO business reporter Tony McDonough responded to a comment Gibbs made about Ms Berger on September 21, 2019.
The ECHO’s political editor, Liam Thorp, saw Gibbs' offensive and threatening response to Mr McDonough, which came from a business @Aladdins_CaveUK.
Mr Thorp reported the tweet to the company, which imports goods from the Middle East, before informing Twitter Support.
Gibbs demanded the ECHO fire Mr Thorp and emailed him on September 25, threatening to “smash up” the ECHO office.
He called the office and threatened to slit a female member of staff and Mr Thorp’s throats, then told a woman he would “f***ing cut Liam’s testicles off and put them down his throat”.
Gibbs, from Kensington, admitted two counts of sending a malicious communication and two counts of making threats to kill. His six previous convictions for 12 offences include nine cases of harassment and one of threats to kill.
Gibbs was jailed for two and a half years.
Adam Kershaw
(Image: nyorkspolice)
Drink driver Adam Kershaw crushed a St Helens man to death in his 7.5 tonne camper van.
The 29-year-old ploughed a crudely-converted truck into a Peugeot carrying Joseph Keane and his girlfriend Alyssa Henderson.
Three times over the limit, unlicensed and uninsured, he was on the wrong side of the road when he effectively “drove over” his victim at 55mph.
Kershaw had earlier smashed into a stone bridge and narrowly avoided a collision with a coach containing 60 schoolchildren during a 28-mile rampage.
Trainee solicitor Mr Keane, 28, who was celebrating his birthday, had visited Ingleton Falls in Yorkshire, before the tragedy on the A65.
(Image: PA)
Kershaw was travelling to Beat-Herder Festival in Lancashire, on July 13, 2018, after spending the night drinking and taking ketamine.
Hitting the bridge left a door to the rear of the van hanging open, but he ignored his passengers' pleas to stop and “didn’t seem to care” before the crash.
The dad-of-two, of Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, did nothing to help at the scene and didn’t speak to Miss Henderson, who was “covered in blood and hysterical with grief”.
Kershaw, who had previous convictions for drink driving and speeding, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and possessing ecstasy and ketamine.
He was jailed for nine years and banned from driving for 11 and a half years.
Melissa Ellis and Jonathan Lucas
(Image: merpol)
A couple with three children who pretended they were landlord and tenant to steal more than £100,000 of benefit cash lived a life of luxury from their ill-gotten gains.
Melissa Ellis, 34 and Jonathan Lucas, 38, were handed £108,754 of taxpayers' money which they were not entitled to.
They pocketed housing benefit and other benefits for nine years but, at the same time, the family went on flashy holidays to America, Dubai and Portugal.
The couple lived in a plush home on St Mary’s Road in Huyton, which was protected by security gates.
On the driveway was a convoy of vehicles including a Jaguar, a Mercedes, a Range Rover and a Transit van with a trailer.
(Image: merpol)
Suspicious fraud investigators for the Department for Work and Pensions eventually snared the couple after visiting the four bedroom pad.
Ellis and Lucas, who illegally claimed the benefits between 2008 and 2017, were living together as husband and wife, it was discovered.
Ellis admitted two counts of making a dishonest representation to obtain benefit and three counts of dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances.
She was jailed for two years and three months.
Lucas admitted two counts of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence.
He was handed 21 months behind bars.
Aiden Bennett
(Image: cheshirepolice)
Knife-wielding Aiden Bennett attacked and tried to rob a dad walking home from a newsagents.
The 25-year-old confronted Mark Bruffell shortly after 10.40am on November 30, 2019 in Keepers Walk, Runcorn.
Drunken Bennett demanded cash and claimed Mr Bruffell’s son - aged in his 20s - owed him £50 he had borrowed.
Bennett warned “you don’t know what I’m like” then pushed him into metal railings while waving a silver steak knife.
“Totally out of control” Bennett then attacked him from behind, punching him in the neck, back and base of the skull.
The pair fought and fell to the ground, but Bennett had a second knife and later pursued the victim to his home.
Bennett admitted attempted robbery and two counts of having a bladed article in public.
He was jailed for four years.
James Milligan
(Image: Merseyside Police)
An innocent 15-year-old boy was attacked by 33-year-old James Milligan wielding a broom handle and threatening to “bite his face off”.
The victim was assaulted on the first day he had left home for two months and was left feeling paranoid and suffering from flashbacks.
Milligan, who was angry after receiving threats from a mutual friend during a day of drinking, armed himself with a broom handle.
He went to a property in Florence Road, Seacombe on several occasions on May 5 2019, when threats were exchanged.
Milligan threatened to set the flat on fire and began swearing at the vulnerable schoolboy, who had arrived on the scene by chance.
The dad-of-two threatened to “bite his face off” and the boy backed into the house, where Milligan hit him over the head with the broom handle, causing a six-inch gash.
Milligan admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for 21 months.
Paul Lawrence
Sick paedophile Paul Lawrence who was previously jailed for grooming and molesting a young victim was later convicted of raping her.
The 58-year-old was caught with a schoolgirl in 2017, wearing just a dressing gown with a condom in the pocket, after months of grooming and sexual abuse.
Lawrence, originally from Birkdale, was jailed for six years and nine months after admitting a string of sexual offences with a child.
On January 3, 2020, the vile abuser was convicted again after the victim came forward and accused him of raping her.
Merseyside Police officers praised the girl for her bravery in bringing her attacker to justice.
Lawrence admitted two counts of rape and was handed seven years and nine months in jail, consecutive to his existing prison sentence.
Christopher Noon
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A naked cocaine-fuelled yob threatened to shoot his ex-partner and open fire on police during a violent siege.
Christopher Noon, 26, flew into a jealous rage during a meeting with Amy Naylor, the mum of his two children, at her flat, kicking her in the head and body.
The coward - who also bit Miss Naylor’s lip and spat on her - refused to let the victim leave her home in Nutgrove Road, Thatto Heath.
When police arrived, at 10.40pm on August 24, 2019, Noon warned: “I’m all strapped up. I have a gun and will shoot you. You’re getting blasted. Got a strap lad.”
Noon threatened to shoot Miss Naylor, before armed police used a distraction device and stormed the flat to rescue the victim.
He admitted false imprisonment, assault causing actual bodily harm, affray and breach of a restraining order.
Noon, of no fixed address, previously slashed a woman and set a dog on her.
He was jailed for three years and four months and given an indefinite restraining order.
Scott Cowley
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Scott Cowley hacked three women’s computer webcams so he could secretly film them undressing and having sex.
The pervert, 27, from St Helens, used “Trojan” software to spy on his unsuspecting victims over a two-year period.
But he was rumbled because he had bought the “malicious” malware programme using his own PayPal account and was identified by the Regional Cyber Crime Unit.
Police seized his laptop when they raided his home on November 25, 2019, before arresting him at his workplace in Kirkby.
They discovered folders named after each victim containing pictures and videos of the women undressing and one having sex.
Cowley, of Bedford Street, who has no previous convictions, admitted three counts of computer misuse and three counts of voyeurism.
He was jailed for two years.
Lee Devereux
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Lee Devereux was spared jail after choking his partner but turned up drunk for a ‘Building Better Relationships’ course.
The jealous woman beater held his knee on the throat of his girlfriend Lisa Ellis and asked: “Are you ready to die?”
He punched, kicked and strangled the victim when she tried to flee his Anfield home during a “frightening” ordeal.
Devereux, 37, of Vallance Road, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm over the harrowing March 22, 2019 attack.
He had 24 previous convictions for 43 offences, including past attacks on previous girlfriends.
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But he walked free after defence lawyers said he had served the equivalent of a nine-month jail sentence on remand.
Devereux was handed 21 months in jail, suspended for two years, plus various courses, when sentenced on July 12, 2019.
However, he behaved unacceptably at a probation centre on July 18, turned up drunk on October 16, then skipped appointments on November 18 and December 16.
Devereux, who admitted breaching the suspended sentence, was jailed for 20 months.
Wayne Poulton
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Wayne Poulton smashed a family’s car windscreen with a baseball bat showering three young children in glass.
Harrowing dashcam footage captured the moment he went berserk with a weapon hidden in his boot.
The parents of the youngsters - aged six, seven and 10 - pleaded with the yob, telling him: “There’s kids in the car.”
But the 27-year-old, of Emery Street, Walton, replied: “I don’t give a f***, I haven’t had my medication.”
His erratic driving in a Volkswagen Golf led to a confrontation in New Brighton at around 5pm on May 27, 2019.
The children - two boys and a girl - were left covered in glass, but fortunately didn’t suffer any cuts in the incident.
Poulton admitted three counts of common assault, criminal damage, threatening behaviour and possessing an offensive weapon.
Judge Stuart Driver, QC, said the children were so frightened they became “hysterical” during their “terrible ordeal”.
Poulton, formerly of Markfield Road, Bootle, burst into tears as he was jailed for 12 months.
Stephen Roy Coleman and Stephen Kane Coleman
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A father and son armed with a machete burst into a house in Wirral and slashed a terrified dad.
Stephen Roy Coleman, 43, and Stephen Kane Coleman, 21, stormed a property in Tranmere looking for Curtis Glover.
Mr Glover had allegedly threatened Coleman jnr’s girlfriend with a Samurai sword when she was out with her children.
He wasn’t at home but his dad, John Glover, was struck on the arm with the weapon while trying to protect himself.
Drug dealer Coleman jnr and his serial criminal dad, both of Barnsley Road, Birkenhead, struck at the victim’s home in Hampden Road on August 3, 2019.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
CCTV footage showed Coleman jnr smashing windows and throwing property outside, causing £2,000 of damage.
Coleman jnr admitted aggravated burglary, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and criminal damage.
He also admitted three counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply in 2018 and 2019 and asked for 17 burglaries to be taken into consideration.
His dad admitted burglary with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and breaching a 22-month suspended sentence, for a past burglary plot.
Coleman snr was sentenced to four and a half years in jail and grinning Coleman jnr was locked up for eight years.
Rachel Bateman
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Rachel Bateman glassed her best friend in the face then claimed she forgot she had a glass in her hand.
The mum-of-three attacked 27-year-old Chelsea Jones during a drunken argument, leaving her scarred for life.
Just seconds beforehand, Bateman, 27, had thrown the contents of the glass over her shocked friend of 16 years.
But she tried to convince police, the Probation Service and a court she hadn’t realised she was holding the weapon.
Bateman and Miss Jones - a mum-of-two - were at the Bromborough Pub in Wirral at around 11.45pm on May 18, 2019.
CCTV showed Miss Jones walk away, Bateman snatch a glass, throw the contents over her, then smash it into her face.
The victim suffered a 4cm deep cut from her lip to her nose, which needed seven stiches and left a highly visible scar.
Bateman, of Hornby Road, Bromborough, denied wounding with intent but this charge was dropped after she admitted the lesser offence of wounding.
The mum, who had a past conviction for common assault, accepted her claims about the glass weren’t true when challenged by a judge.
She burst into tears as she was jailed for 20 months.
Dale Redrobe
Dale Redrobe was jailed in connection with a nationwide drugs conspiracy.
He admitted being involved in a plot operated by Jamie Oldroyd, who moved cocaine to London, Manchester, Scunthorpe and Carlisle.
Warrington-based gang leader Oldroyd, 29, was eventually caught as part of the Cheshire Police investigation Operation Dreadnought.
“Direct associate” Redrobe was caught after Oldroyd passed him cocaine in the Asda Birchwood car park, to be delivered to a third party.
Prosecutors said the 30-year-old, of Swanside Road, Huyton, was given the role of driving vehicles associated with Oldroyd’s car rental firm.
In reality, Oldroyd, of Rennie Drive, Warrington, who was jailed for 14 years and three months, oversaw a multi-million pound drugs gang.
Redrobe was jailed for 21 months.
Richard Roberts
A pervert told a 12-year-old girl to send pictures of herself in the shower before being snared by paedophile hunters.
Richard Roberts thought he was speaking with a girl from Liverpool called Emily, but was actually sending the sexually explicit messages to a “decoy” from the group.
Conversations between Roberts and the decoy began after he spotted her profile on Facebook and messaged her from his own account.
The 49-year-old, from Lon Ogwen in North Wales, told the girl he wanted to be her first kiss before quickly moving on to discuss sexual matters.
Roberts asked for sexual images of the girl and said he would travel to Liverpool to meet her.
But he warned her not to tell anyone about their relationship until she was 16 and asked her to send him images of her in the shower.
Roberts gave the girl his real name and used his address before the paedophile hunters confronted him at his home and he was arrested.
He admitted attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence and possessing extreme pornographic images.
He was jailed for two years.
Daniel Jones
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Upskirt pervert Daniel Jones targeted schoolgirls and women on escalators at supermarkets, shopping centres and train stations.
He secretly filmed eight children, some believed to be as young as 10, in a crime commonly known as “upskirting”.
The twisted creep amassed more than 400 videos and photos, but accidentally recorded his own face on one of the sick clips.
Police found his iPhone had a “covert camera” app, which allowed it to record or take pictures without the screen being active.
Jones, of Fairlie Drive, Rainhill, was rumbled after an incident at a Tesco store in St Helens, at around 7pm, on May 9, 2018.
The 26-year-old admitted outraging public decency, at various locations, between May 9, 2017 and May 10, 2018.
He pleaded guilty to taking eight indecent photographs of children and one count of voyeurism, relating to the fitting room video.
Jones, who had no previous convictions, was jailed for 12 months.
Antonio Hall
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Antonio Hall has spent nearly four decades stealing from vulnerable retired and disabled people across Merseyside.
He has 21 convictions for 42 offences and was described as “a distraction burglar who preys on the elderly”.
The 53-year-old was released from jail in July 2018, midway through a seven-year sentence for 19 such burglaries.
But while on licence, he and an accomplice struck at the addresses of seven pensioners, aged between 73 and 95.
Police arrested Hall when they raided his flat in Longmoor Lane, Fazakerley on September 18.
Officers found a fake photo ID card in his name, purportedly from the Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register.
Hall, who admitted seven burglaries, was recalled on licence, jailed for eight years and banned from driving for seven years.
Ryan Weston
Hollie Sheridan-Connis tragically lost her life on January 1, 2019, just hours after being given a cocktail of alcohol and drugs by her boyfriend Ryan Lee Weston.
The Wirral couple were celebrating New Year’s Eve at a cabin in Wales when they decided to get engaged, having only recently reconciled their “volatile” relationship.
Hollie, 24, and Weston 32, arrived at the Glan y Gro Lakeside Suites in Gwynedd on December 31, 2018 and brought alcohol and a range of drugs with them.
Just hours later, on New Year’s Day 2019, Hollie was pronounced dead by paramedics that were called to the cabin when she collapsed.
Weston, of Oteley Avenue, Bromborough, admitted supplying Hollie with cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamine and ketamine.
He also pleaded guilty to burgling Ms Sheridan-Connis' home in Leasowe earlier in December 2018 and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
He was already serving a prison sentence having pleaded guilty to possessing drugs with intent to supply in August 2019 and being handed a 45-month jail term.
Sentencing Weston, Judge Huw Rees said: “This is a tragic case and underlines the devastating effects drugs and a combination of alcohol can have.
“Courts often warn death can result and in this case it has.”
Kyle Paladino
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Kyle Paladino stabbed a supermarket manager in the stomach when he tried to stop him stealing a jar of coffee.
The 23-year-old, who was high on drink and drugs, was spotted by Ben Lee acting suspiciously on CCTV at Farmfoods in St Helens.
Mr Lee, who was in his office, watched Paladino put the jar in a bag at the Boundary Lane shop at around 3.30pm on Saturday, October 19, 2019.
Mr Lee challenged the thief, who replied: “Who do you think you are? I paid for this.”
The manager grabbed the coffee and Paladino became aggressive, so he was escorted to the door, where he lunged at the manager with the hidden blade.
Paladino, of Beacon Grove, St Helens, admitted wounding with intent, possessing an offensive weapon, and theft.
He was jailed for four and a half years.
Vasile and Adrian Serban
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
An evil yob who stabbed a dog before hurling the pet to her death from a balcony escaped to Romania with his brother.
Vasile and Adrian Serban fled the UK in the wake of the sickening attack at a devastated family’s home in Toxteth.
They were part of a gang of drunken louts who targeted Mihaela Filip, her son Christian Dutu, and their beloved American bulldog Hindo.
Adrian, 31, of Grosvenor Road, Wavertree, threw a broken bottle, which hit Ms Filip’s right hand, causing three deep cuts, before four thugs scaled the victims' balcony.
Hindo tried to protect her owners, but was knifed with a broken bottle by Vasile, 25, of Bannerman Street, Wavertree, then flung onto a parked van in the road below.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Horrifying mobile phone footage filmed by witnesses captured the shocking moment the animal was thrown, then limped away and died.
Mr Dutu was also stabbed in the chest by one thug, then dragged inside his home, where his shirt was ripped and his trousers pulled down.
Meanwhile, Adrian also set upon Ms Filip - pulling her hair and repeatedly punching her - on the evening of April 21, 2018.
The brothers were jailed in their absence, having skipped a trial in September 2019.
Vasile admitted affray and was found guilty after the trial of “destroying property” - criminal damage - namely Hindo. He was jailed for 22 months.
Adrian was found guilty of affray and wounding Ms Filip. He was jailed for three years.
Steven McGlue
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Masked robber Steven McGlue raided his local Post Office and was chased by the owner - leading him to his own home.
McGlue and an unknown accomplice stole £1,000 in cash from Sutton Oak Post Office in St Helens.
McGlue, 36, kept watch at the door, while an unknown thug pushed his way past terrified worker Deborah Clark.
But the store’s owner Umar Farooq pursued the balaclava-clad pair, whose raid was captured on CCTV cameras.
And McGlue came unstuck when he made the bizarre decision to run straight to his nearby flat in Cecil Street.
When police arrived they found a balaclava and gloves set alight in the kitchen sink and another balaclava on a table.
Bungling McGlue then revealed his treacherous friend said he didn’t get any money - fleeing with the cash for himself.
McGlue, who admitted robbery, was jailed for four and a half years.
Tamara Williams
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Transgender woman Tamara Williams was sent to a men’s prison after she carried out a “campaign of burglaries” in a one-night crime spree.
The 37-year-old, of Bridge Street, Birkenhead, broke into supported accommodation for vulnerable people and people older than 55.
There she attempted to steal a treasured Second World War medal on October 25, 2019 in an hour-long crime spree.
The court heard Williams had gone through a bout of homelessness in January 2019 and had drug misuse issues.
She admitted handling stolen goods, theft from a shop and five burglaries.
Williams was sentenced to two years in prison.
The court heard at least part of this sentence would be served at a male prison, although where the rest of the term is spent could be subject to appeal.
Christopher Jones
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“Extreme” stalker Christopher Jones sent a young mum a picture from the blockbuster movie Taken with the sinister caption “I will find you”.
The former soldier later rang his ex-partner and played a clip of Liam Neeson saying the famous line.
The 28-year-old exploited his role as stepdad to the disabled woman’s six-year-old son to manipulate her emotionally.
Jones, of Burman Road, Garston, subjected the visually impaired Wirral mum to shocking abuse over six months.
His “campaign of extreme harassment” left her suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jones admitted stalking and breaching a restraining order designed to protect his victim and was jailed for four years.
Darren Draper
(Image: merpol)
Darren Draper attacked a man who shouted slurs about him in the street.
He was at home when he heard unsubstantiated allegations being yelled outside, followed by a garden object crashing through his front window.
Outside were Christopher Magee and another man who had been drinking at the King Head pub in Bebington, Wirral.
Mr Magee claimed he had been told something about Draper which angered him, so decided to visit the 52-year-old’s home in Highfield Road, Rock Ferry.
“Infuriated” Draper enlisted the help of two other men and set off in a car to confront Mr Magee on September 11, 2018.
He had walked a short distance to Green Lawn where he was hit by the car, causing him to fall to the ground, before Draper repeatedly kicked and stamped on him.
Draper admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years and four months.
Caroline Rimmer
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Drug addict Caroline Rimmer punched a nurse before biting two police officers in a “chaotic” hospital rampage.
The 43-year-old lashed out at medical staff, security and patients' relatives who intervened at Aintree Hospital.
She then sunk her teeth into two female police officers, leaving both scarred and fearing they may have contracted HIV.
Both victims were given antibiotics and underwent blood tests to see if they had contracted HIV or Hepatitis C.
The tests proved negative, but the officers faced an anxious wait before the all-clear.
Rimmer, of Sandown Road in Seaforth, admitted two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
She was jailed for 12 months.
John Llewellyn
John Llewellyn killed a mum in a road accident just hours after meeting her on a dating website.
The 34-year-old, from Liverpool, picked up Chloe Haydock, 26, during the early hours of January 13, 2018.
Llewellyn, of Redrock Street, Everton, then lost control of his Ford Fiesta and smashed into a wall in Wigan.
Chloe, who was a mother to a three-year-old boy, Leo, suffered serious injuries in the crash and died in hospital.
Llewellyn, who was driving at nearly 50mph in a 30mph zone, told police he had hit another car, which drove off.
A roadside breath test tested positive, but a blood sample taken at hospital found him under the drink drive limit.
Llewellyn, who suffered injuries to his wrist, hand, legs and knee, admitted causing death by dangerous driving.
He was jailed for three years and four months and banned from the road for eight years and eight months.
Sean Meadows
(Image: cheshirepolice)
Sean Meadows was in an armed gang who “hunted down” a car in a high-speed chase before blasting it with a sawn-off shotgun.
The 30-year-old was one of four men in a Mazda 3 who pursued the Ford Focus, which contained three rival men.
Meadows, formerly of Oxford Street, Widnes, was accused of being the gunman, but always denied he pulled the trigger.
He pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, on the basis he hid the weapon.
Meadows was arrested a few days after mayhem in Runcorn Old Town, at around 8.30am on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, as schoolchildren walked past.
The driver of the Ford lost control near Bridge Street and it was rammed by the Mazda, as a gunman shot the Ford’s back lights.
Meadows got out carrying a bag containing the shotgun and dumped the weapon, which has never been recovered, in bushes.
He was jailed for nine years with an extended one year on licence.
Stephen and Daniel Yates
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Stephen and Daniel Yates stole an elderly woman’s Motability car, Blue Badge and walking stick.
The brothers broke into the 88-year-old disabled victim’s Prescot home while she was sleeping upstairs.
The OAP, who is hard of hearing and requires medication to sleep, “thankfully” wasn’t disturbed by the pair.
But they left her housebound over Christmas, after taking her Peugeot 108 and a handbag containing her driving licence.
Stephen and Daniel - former ASBO terrors who have plagued Prescot - struck with an unknown third man on December 13.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
They smashed a kitchen window to gain access to the pensioner’s property in Dennett Road, then fled in her Peugeot.
A police officer spotted the stolen car being driven at speed along Prescot Way, with no lights on, at around 2.15am.
After a short chase the three men got out and fled, but Stephen and Daniel were caught near the M57, just before 3am.
They both admitted burglary and theft from a motor vehicle, while Daniel also admitted breaching a suspended sentence.
Daniel, 28, of Hughes Avenue, Prescot, was jailed for three years and 20 weeks.
Stephen, 36, of Kingsway, Prescot, was jailed for three years.
Paul Pollard
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Paul Pollard robbed a taxi driver at knifepoint but was “run over” by police - breaking his leg in two places.
The thug - who has a history of robbing vulnerable people including women - struck near Anfield stadium on Bonfire night.
Pollard held a folding knife to the neck of Delta Taxis driver Mehrdad Asgari and demanded his takings in Grasmere Street.
But when the 35-year-old fled with just £15, he was hit by a police patrol car and left lying on the pavement “screaming in pain”.
It happened just before thousands of fans left Anfield, after Liverpool’s Champions League win against Genk on November 5, 2019.
The career criminal admitted robbery, possessing an offensive weapon and criminal damage.
He was jailed for six years, with an extended four years on licence.
Callum Leslie
Callum Leslie knocked out two men after one of them accidentally spilt his drink in a nightclub.
The 23-year-old attacked his victims in Voodoo bar in Warrington before launching a ferocious assault outside.
He knocked both men to the ground and kicked the drink spiller as he lay on the dancefloor, knocking him out.
Leslie punched the other victim several times, again as he lying defenceless on the floor, before security intervened.
When Leslie realised the first victim had come outside, he punched him in the head from behind, leaving him unconscious.
An unknown man potentially saved the victim’s life by pulling his tongue away from the back of his throat to clear his airway.
The Good Samaritan also put him in the recovery position and he regained consciousness 20 minutes later, on May 11, 2019.
Leslie, of Pippits Row, Runcorn, admitted three counts of assault causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for 10 months.
Roger Collins
(Image: cheshire police)
Roger Collins attacked and imprisoned his girlfriend for hours leaving her so scared she built a panic room.
The serial woman beater assaulted his partner before sitting astride her on a bed, yelling: “I could stab you if I wanted to.”
The 52-year-old took the terrified woman’s pillow, sentimental to her because it belonged to her late dad, and smothered her with it, suffocating her.
Collins punched her to the side of her face, followed his victim as she fled, locked the front and back doors - removing the keys - and confiscated her mobile phone.
The victim was left imprisoned in her own home in Orford, Warrington, for several hours on September 3, 2019.
Collins, of Dentons Green Lane, St Helens, was found guilty of false imprisonment and actual bodily harm after a trial.
The remorseless brute was jailed for 18 months.
Michael Morrisey
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Michael Morrisey instructed a fellow paedophile how to rape his nephew and tried to arrange sex with a 13-year-old boy.
The depraved pervert boasted online about having sex with children and tried to talk another man into “sharing” his young relative.
But the unsuspecting 67-year-old was actually talking to undercover police - while on bail and serving a suspended sentence.
The OAP was jailed for seven years over the disturbing conversations and a sick stash of images, which showed babies being abused.
A top judge said he only avoided an even longer extended sentence because he was likely to die in prison from lung cancer.
Morrisey was subject to a 10-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, for downloading indecent images.
He admitted two new counts of downloading indecent images, one of possessing indecent images, and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
Morrisey also admitted attempted sexual communication with a child, encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, and breaching his suspended sentence.
Gang who sold crack and heroin outside nursery
(Image: cheshire police)
A gang who sold crack cocaine and heroin outside a children’s nursery raked in up to £2,000 a day.
The criminals were watched by undercover police as they supplied their Class A product from Liverpool to Warrington.
On average, the “county lines” mob dealt between 15 and 20 grams in smaller £10 street deals each day.
(Image: cheshire police)
They transported the heroin and crack cocaine by car, then sold the drugs outside a nursery in the Padgate area.
Graham Daniels drove the drugs from a house in Glencairn Road, Old Swan to Warrington, then returned with the profits.
Detectives later raided the house and established it was being used to produce, weigh and package the drugs.
(Image: cheshire police)
Anthony Bath, was known as the street dealer who physically sold the drugs to users in the Warrington area.
Each day, Gilesie Smith was responsible for operating the phone that users would contact for drugs.
He would direct Bath to meet the drug users and provide them with their supply.
(Image: cheshire police)
Michael Murphy, sourced and paid the rent in Glencairn Road which was used as a drug hub.
Smith, 20, of Dorien Road, Old Swan, admitted three counts of conspiracy to supply crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis.
He was jailed for six years and nine months.
Bath, 26, of Montague Road, Old Swan, admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin and was jailed for six years.
(Image: cheshire police)
Daniels, 48, of Poplars Avenue, Warrington, admitted supplying crack cocaine and heroin and was jailed for four years and six months.
Murphy, 22, of Ingrow Road, Kensington, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply and allowing his premises to be used for the supply of Class A drugs and was jailed for three years and three months.
Liam Grant, 22, of Davidson Road, Old Swan, admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis and was jailed for three years and two months.
George Clayton
(Image: Merseyside Police)
George Clayton left his ex-partner with stitches and clumps of hair missing after he attacked her in front of their four young children.
He left the children screaming after he launched into an attack on his victim, who was making tea for their family, aged between three and 13.
The 43-year-old, who has attacked her before, had become angry and irrationally jealous after she asked him to leave her Fairfield home.
Clayton, of Robarts Road, Anfield, struck the woman across the face and grabbed her by the hair, causing her to fall to the floor.
He then pulled clumps of her hair out, as she begged her 10-year-old to call police, then punched her in the face twice, cutting each eyebrow.
The woman beater, who had been drinking and admitted wounding, then fled and she called 999, on July 26, 2019. He was jailed for 16 months.
Sidney Southwood
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Sidney Southwood bought a vulnerable young woman cuddly toys and told her it was “so I can do what I want to you”.
The 76-year-old sexual predator gave his victim the gifts when she was out shopping in St Helens town centre.
He then led the woman to secluded wasteland, off Duncan Avenue, and tried to put his hand down her trousers.
Southwood repeatedly kissed the victim, despite her pleading for the OAP to stop, and trying to push him away.
But residents whose homes overlook the field witnessed his vile attack and called police, who arrested Southwood.
Southwood, of Tickle Avenue, St Helens, denied sexual assault but was found guilty after a trial.
He was jailed for 18 months.
David Edwards
(Image: Cheshire Police)
David Edwards tried to swallow up to 20 bags of heroin when caught by the police.
The 23-year-old, and fellow addict Sharon Cooper, 46, were “low down” the drug hierarchy chain and made to transport drugs across Merseyside.
Cooper, a mum-of-two, of Deepdale, Widnes, was coerced into driving a car by a man with Edwards, of no fixed address, in exchange for drugs.
Edwards, who was already serving a sentence of three years and four months imposed in April 2019 for trying to rob three shops, had built up a drug debt.
The pair were stopped by police with scales, £763 in cash, one wrap of crack cocaine and 20 wraps of heroin in a car in Widnes on December 23, 2018.
As officers approached, Edwards panicked and tried to swallow the drugs, but police managed to stop him and Cooper confessed.
Edwards, who admitted possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply was jailed for two years and four months, consecutive to his existing sentence.
Cooper, who admitted being concerned in the supply of the drugs, was handed 23 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, and a drug rehabilitation requirement.
John Molyneux
(Image: cheshirepolice)
John Molyneux told a girl he was “not a predator” before exposing himself and groping her, then trying to stifle his victim’s screams with her hair.
The 27-year-old, of no fixed address, inflicted the terrifying encounter in the early hours of a morning in 2019 after he had been drinking and taking cocaine.
Molyneux turned up at the property in Widnes, tapped on a window, and when the victim - aged under 16 – opened the front door, put his foot in the gap.
They chatted and Molyneux, “slurring his words” and “swaying”, smelled of alcohol.
Molyneux, who was out on licence after serving half of a six-year sentence for robbery, told the girl he had recently been released from prison.
He told his victim she was “fit” then advanced while claiming he was “not a predator”.
Molyneux tried to stifle the traumatised girl’s screams with his hand and her own hair.
He admitted sexual activity with a child and was jailed for 20 months.
Jack Murphy
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Crack cocaine and heroin dealer Jack Murphy boasted he sold “the best in town”.
The 18-year-old was part of a “County Lines” gang supplying Class A drugs from Liverpool to Barrow in Cumbria.
Murphy, of Nightingale Road, West Derby, was caught with a “graft” mobile phone, known as the “A Line”.
This sent out “flare” texts alerting users drugs were for sale, including: “On with 10/10 both best in town”
Police arrested Murphy and two accomplices when they raided a house in Longway, Barrow on May 21, 2019.
They recovered almost £2,500 in cash, cocaine separated into six separate deals, more drugs, and two plastic wraps of brown powder - “fake heroin” that was nutmeg.
The gang had a stash of weapons in the address, including a dagger and a large machete over one foot in length.
Murphy was carrying two mobile phones - one the “dealer line” - and admitted conspiring to supply Class A drugs.
He was jailed for three years and two months.
Gary Swift and Scott Kilgour
Gary Swift and Scott Kilgour sailed a yacht across the Atlantic carrying a huge stash of cocaine.
They were at the helm of the SY Atrevido, which collected a 750kg illegal haul from Suriname, on the north east coast of South America.
The cocaine had a purity of 83% and a wholesale value of around £24m and a potential street value of £60m once cut.
Swift, 53, had undertaken a “dummy run” in December 2017,, but this attempt ended up in him getting into difficulties in waters off the Welsh coast.
He had to be towed into Fishguard harbour for repairs, and crucially, this alerted the authorities to their future plan - on August 27, 2019.
When the Merseysiders arrived in Pembrokeshire, Border Force officers were watching and swooped on the boat, half a mile off the Welsh coast, searching it thoroughly.
Swift, who knew the game was up, confessed to them: “I’m the bad one here. I had to come clean. I’m glad it’s over.”
Swift, of no fixed address, was jailed for 19 and a half years and Kilgour, 41, of Bedford Close, Edge Hill, for 13 and a half years, after they both admitted importing Class A drugs into the UK.
Jay Ferguson
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Jay Ferguson said he wanted to carry out a violent rape using Tinder when he was released from jail.
The paedophile, 20, who identifies as a man, was being held at women’s prison HMP Styal in Cheshire.
He was locked up for 22 months in 2017, after putting together a “rape kit” and threatening to abduct and rape a child.
Within days of his release in August 2019, he contacted police to tell them he had a child sex abuse video and a knife.
Sarah Badrawy, prosecuting, said: “He has written letters to officers at Styal indicating his intention to carry out a violent rape on his release and his intention to use a social network or dating application called Tinder to do so.”
Ferguson was released from Styal on August 16, 2019 and moved into a flat in Liverpool Road, Huyton.
He rang the police at around 4.50am on August 21 and said he was talking to a man called Leon Jones, who had sent him indecent photos of children.
Officers seized a Category B indecent video from Ferguson and evidence from chats contradicted his claim that he requested it while acting as a paedophile hunter.
The pervert was released on bail, but just before 9pm on August 26 walked into Huyton Police Station and revealed he was carrying a kitchen knife.
Ferguson, who had served five months on remand, admitted possessing an indecent image of a child and having an article with a blade ahead of a trial.
He was jailed for 14 months.
Carl Turner, John Hughes and Patrick Boyle
(Image: Merseyside Police)
A worried dad confronted his daughter’s abusive ex-boyfriend only to be beaten unconscious in front of terrified schoolchildren.
Carl Turner enlisted the help of John Hughes and Patrick Boyle to rain punches on Michael Pye – leaving him with a broken nose and facial scars.
The attack took place inside the One Stop Shop in Bowness Avenue, St Helens, on July 10, 2019, after Mr Pye, 53, coincidentally came across Turner bothering his daughter, Samantha Pye.
(Image: Merseyside Police)
Turner and Hughes also stamped and kicked on Mr Pye’s work colleague, 51-year-old Thomas Beard, leaving him with a serious wound to the back of his head and a fractured arm.
Turner, who was later arrested after a roof-top stand-off, also bombarded 24-year-old Miss Pye with daily threatening phone calls and texts.
Miss Pye was driven to such despair by Turner’s threats, on one occasion she cut her wrists with a Stanley knife, and although she survived her injuries, her child was taken into care for a month by social services.
(Image: Merseyside Police)
Turner, 28, of Eskdale, Skelmersdale, admitted two counts of wounding and one of harassment. He was jailed for three and a half years.
Hughes, 25, of no fixed address, admitted two counts of wounding and was jailed for three years and four months.
Boyle, 24, of Windsor Road, Tuebrook, admitted one count of wounding and was jailed for 12 months.
Michael Fagbuaro
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A killer gun thug drove a woman to attempt suicide after they started dating while he was in prison.
Michael Fagbuaro was jailed for 18 years over the shooting of Kensington butcher Asif Bashir in a ruthless gang robbery.
The 22-year-old cocaine dealer was cleared of murder, but convicted of manslaughter, after a harrowing trial in March 2011.
Catherine Mooney said she and Fagbuaro were friends and she felt sorry for him, as he told her he wasn’t responsible, so she started visiting him in jail.
But he began controlling her, demanding she put money in his account and buy him designer clothes, and issued vile threats.
He said he would show her dad intimate photos of her and threatened to hurt Miss Mooney, her family and even her dogs.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
They split up but when he got out of jail in August he said he loved her and they reunited, before he attacked her on October 10.
In front of shocked witnesses at Liverpool South Parkway train station he dragged her out of a car and punched her in the head, then made more threats.
He forced her to go to police and give a false account to say he acted in self-defence, then called her from prison threatening to kill her mum.
Ms Mooney was so affected she tried to take her own life.
Fagbuaro, formerly of Grove Way, Edge Hill, was found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.
He admitted a second count of the latter offence.
Fagbuaro, who was recalled on licence, was jailed for 21 months.
Daniel Glassey
(Image: PA)
A police officer rang a female colleague more than 100 times on a night out and changed shifts to match hers during vile abuse.
Daniel Glassey cheated on his girlfriend with the officer for three months, before bombarding them both with controlling text messages and demanding requests.
The 30-year-old then used threats and physical violence against his fellow officer, just months after striking up a relationship with her.
Glassey, of Dale Lane, Appleton, Warrington, joined Cheshire Police as a special constable in August 2017 and his partner dumped him in June 2018.
He refused to accept her decision and demanded to know where she was and who with in vile and obnoxious texts and phone calls.
Three months before the break up with his partner, in March 2018, Glassey began an affair with a female officer at Cheshire Police.
This officer, who was unaware of his existing relationship, was abused, controlled and harassed daily by Glassey, before another colleague found out in April 2019.
Glassey, who admitted controlling and coercive behaviour and harassment, was jailed for two years and three months.
Sheena Farrell
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Mentally ill Sheena Farrell slashed two policemen after repeatedly refusing to put down a kitchen knife.
An officer on patrol in Fairfield stopped to chat to the “dishevelled” and hooded mum-of-two, to see if she was okay.
But the 43-year-old ignored his requests to take her hands out of her pockets, before revealing a large carving knife.
Bodycam footage showed he sprayed Farrell with CS gas but she fled, so he chased after her and called for back-up.
However, she still wouldn’t drop the weapon and officers were forced to disarm her.
A sergeant repeatedly hit Farrell with his baton, but she slashed and stabbed at him, as they both fell to the ground, then kept saying: “I’m sorry, sorry love.”
The sergeant realised he had a wound on his thumb and a cut to his arm, both requiring stitches, while his colleague’s head was also cut.
Farrell admitted wounding both officers and having a knife in public on December 3 2019 - the drug addict’s first crimes since 1999. She was jailed for two years.
Marvin Haid
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Police took drug dealer Marvin Haid ’s cash, the Audi on his drive and the Rolex on his wrist when they raided his home.
Officers discovered nearly £10,000 in bank notes hidden behind a TV at the 27-year-old’s property in Bethel Road, Wavertree.
An investigation revealed more than £36,000 had also been paid into the crook’s bank account over two-and-a-half years.
Haid offered no explanation for the dirty cash, the Audi A3, or his £3,000 Rolex watch when interviewed by police on July 25, 2019.
But the dad-of-two later tried to convince a probation officer he had only been “minding” the money, including the £36,000.
Prosecutors said the combined value of all the money and items was £57,327, but Haid failed to give an explanation to the police.
Haid admitted two counts of possessing criminal property and possessing cannabis.
Defence lawyers said Haid now accepted his claims were “unrealistic” and he was jailed for two years and one month.
George Fairclough
Masked robber George Fairclough dragged an elderly woman out of bed after attacking her husband.
He pushed his way into the victims' home in Milbrook Crescent, Kirkby after banging on their front door late in the evening.
The male homeowner got up to see who was at the front door, but was met by the 28-year-old thug, who attacked him.
He dragged the man’s wife from her bed, assaulted her and demanded money from the couple, both in their 70s and in poor health.
The husband managed to get help and Fairclough fled, but was arrested the day after the attack, on December 24, 2017.
While the incident was being investigated, both victims sadly died and did not get the chance to see their attacker jailed.
Fairclough had previously been convicted of robbing another elderly man and was recalled to prison on licence.
He admitted attempted robbery and was jailed again for 13 and a half years.
Stephen Beaumont
(Image: cheshire police)
Stephen Beaumont fled from police during a 140mph motorway chase before performing a dangerous U-turn into oncoming traffic.
Dashcam footage taken from an unmarked police BMW tailing him revealed the 30-year-old was going so fast on the M62 that officers couldn’t keep up.
He weaved in and out of traffic after police tried to pull him over near to Junction 9, shortly after 11.30am, on December 2, 2019.
His Ford Fiesta was spotted with false registration plates, but Beaumont, of Beach Road, Litherland, refused to stop, and sped away.
He left the M62 at Junction 7 for Rainhill, in St Helens, before running a red light and re-joining the motorway, on the same carriageway, via the entry slip road.
Beaumont then performed a U-turn against the flow of the traffic, ready to speed away in the wrong direction, but officers stopped the Fiesta by ramming it.
Beaumont was convicted of two counts of dangerous driving, plus driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and handling stolen goods.
He was jailed for two years and three months, and banned from the road for five years and 45 days.
Michael Luckett
(Image: cheshire police)
Police officer Michael Luckett started a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman he’d arrested for drink driving.
He started seeing the 30-year-old married woman even when her prosecution for drink driving was still ongoing through the courts.
The 32-year-old constable, who served in Warrington for Cheshire Police, informed his managers when the woman contacted him on Facebook Messenger.
The officer had engaged in a 30-minute conversation with the woman, five weeks after her arrest, but he rightly told his supervisor, who strongly advised him to stop all contact, and no action was taken against him.
But later, he unblocked Miss Walker on social media, and started up a friendship, which led to a sexual relationship.
The policeman, with six years experience, again told his union, but an investigation discovered he’d contacted her five weeks before her drink driving case ended.
Luckett, of Snowberry Crescent in Sankey Bridges, Warrington, was convicted of misconduct in a public office and resigned from his post.
He was jailed for 12 months and banned from serving in the force ever again.
Carl Mercer
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Carl Mercer had a semi-automatic pistol in his kitchen drawer but rang 999 to report himself to the police.
He told the operator he was under threat from people making him deal drugs and gave the address of his Bootle home.
When officers arrived he begged to be arrested and produced a small bag of heroin to convince them to put him in their car.
Police entered the 46-year-old’s property in Longfield Road on November 3, 2019 and found 669g of cannabis worth £6,791.
Officers then seized the working Slovakian Grand Power K100 semi-automatic pistol, plus 29 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Mercer said he owed his dealers a large amount of money so they made him deal the drugs and mind the firearm and ammo.
He admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition, possessing cannabis with intent to supply, and possessing heroin.
Mercer was previously jailed for five years and one month in 2016 for dealing cocaine, heroin and cannabis, producing cannabis and abstracting electricity.
He was jailed for six years.
Dane Rigby
(Image: merpol)
Dane Rigby was found behind the wheel of his car high on cocaine and ketamine while on bail for a dangerous police chase.
He led officers on a 15-minute pursuit through St Helens after being illegally spotted in a pedestrianised zone for buses and taxis.
The 27-year-old raced away in his Mercedes, at 50mph in a 30mph zone, speeding through a red traffic light and travelling on the wrong side of the road.
Rigby narrowly avoided crashes with other cars, at around 4.30pm on December 4, 2018, and drugs bags were seen being flung out the window.
The former care worker stopped near Victoria Park, and ran from the car where he was chased by an officer, then gave up and said: “I wasn’t driving.”
Rigby admitted dangerous driving over the incident, but just six months later, was caught behind the wheel again, this time in Wigan on June 22.
When he stopped for police, the officer found he and three men in the car all looked “intoxicated”, and Rigby seemed “spaced out”.
The electrician, of Princess Avenue, St Helens, tested positive for cocaine and ketamine, and admitted two counts of drug driving.
He was jailed for 12 months and banned from driving for two and a half years.
Andrew McKenna
(Image: James Maloney/Liverpool Echo)
Speeding police officer Andrew McKenna hit and killed a woman while driving at nearly twice the speed limit.
The 57-year-old was travelling at almost 60mph when he struck Linda Meagor, on Goree, next to The Strand, at rush hour.
The popular council worker, 49, tried to cross the road on her way home from work, despite the fact the pedestrian crossing was on a red light.
But the Merseyside Police officer showed utter contempt for the law as he sped past his own force’s headquarters, which overlook the two roads.
And experts said off-duty McKenna could have avoided the fatal smash, if he hadn’t been doing around 57mph in his black Ford Mondeo at rush hour.
Ms Meagor, a hugely popular figure in Liverpool’s arts community, was struck by the dad-of-one’s vehicle at around 5.30pm on February 15, 2018.
McKenna initially denied any wrongdoing and was set to stand trial, but finally pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving in January 2020.
The Toxteth based officer retired from Merseyside Police while he was under investigation.
He was jailed for eight months and banned from the road for two years and four months.
Sam Walker
“Career criminal” Sam Walker was found guilty of theft by a jury after just half an hour of deliberations.
The notorious crook was jailed for 33 months in February 2019 over two high speed police chases and hiding a mobile phone in prison.
He was back in the dock in February 2020 charged with stealing a £166.80 replacement car windscreen beforehand.
The 36-year-old took a silver Rover MG ZT to Superfast Autoglazing in St Helens, then drove away without paying after it was fitted.
But he claimed he wasn’t dishonest as he always intended to pay and only fled because he spotted police and thought he was wanted.
The ex-drug dealer had 45 past convictions for 130 offences and made headlines in 2018 after he taunted police online after fleeing to Africa.
Walker, of Beetham Plaza in Liverpool city centre, failed to convince jurors his actions on June 28, 2018 were innocent, despite claiming he arranged for a pal to pay £200.
He was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison and replied: “Nice one.”
Wayne Lee
(Image: merpol)
Wayne Lee used a dagger-type knife to repeatedly stab a Good Samaritan.
The 19-year-old was high on cannabis and ketamine when he and his friends went looking for violence in Liverpool city centre.
He came across an 18-year-old victim, who was trying to help a group of drunk girls who were sat on the kerb, near Concert Square.
One of Lee’s friends confronted him, either grabbing his neck or nicking it with a blade, and the man shouted: “He’s just held a knife to my throat!”
One of the gang punched him and he collapsed, hitting his head on the floor.
Lee joined in the group assault, as the victim was kicked three times to his head until he was unconscious in Fleet Street at 2.30am on December 5, 2019.
The victim suffered a broken nose, bruising to his jaw and concussion, in an attack witnessed by a second 24-year-old victim.
This Good Samaritan pointed to Lee and tried to grab his top, but the teen produced the dagger, wielding the weapon like a knuckle duster.
Shocking CCTV footage showed the victim was knocked to the ground, when Lee, of October Drive, Kensington, repeatedly knifed him.
The victim suffered stab wounds to his chest, left of his spine, three wounds to his temple and the side of his head.
Lee admitted wounding with intent, possessing a knife and assault causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for six years.
Scott McDonald
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Scott McDonald said he was dealing crack cocaine and heroin to pay off his little brother’s drug debt.
The 24-year-old “panicked” when police stopped his friend’s car and frantically ditched his £80 stash in the footwell.
The dad-of-two later confessed to selling the Class A drugs, but claimed he wasn’t the one benefitting from it.
He was arrested at around 4.25pm, on February 27, 2019, with six wraps of heroin and two wraps of crack cocaine.
McDonald, who also had £380 in cash and a “graft” phone, told police his brother was in debt and had taken it on.
He pleaded guilty to supplying crack cocaine and heroin, and possession with intent to supply both drugs.
McDonald was locked up for two years.
Ian Gargan
(Image: merpol)
Jealous Ian Gargan challenged his ex-wife’s new boyfriend to a fist fight before stabbing him eight times.
Gargan, 40, had split up with Joanne Carden, but became angry after Christopher Fuller began living with his former partner and her four children.
One of the youngsters was fathered by Gargan, and after trying unsuccessfully to get in touch with his teenage son, he decided to visit Ms Carden’s home, on Rutland Avenue in Halewood.
At 1am, Gargan armed himself with a 15cm long knife, and while en route he sent a threatening text to 41-year-old Mr Fuller, demanding they meet on an area of grass close to his home, known as The Hollies.
Mr Fuller refused to get involved, coming outside to tell Gargan to go home, on July 31, 2019, but a struggle broke out and Gargan produced the knife.
He stabbed Mr Fuller eight times, one of the blows passing through the sternum and a vital artery, causing a one centimetre incised wound.
Gargan, of Applewood Court, Halewood, initially tried to claim he was acting in self-defence, but admitted wounding with intent.
He was cleared after a trial of attempted murder and jailed for 10 years.
Jason Bascombe
Jason Bascombe was dealing drugs while registered unemployed and claiming disability benefits.
The 27-year-old, of Ascot Drive in Kirkby, was arrested by police, who found photos on his phone showing him posing with large bundles of cash.
Officers pursued a Vauxhall Vectra after it failed to stop in the Newtown area of Wigan on November 4, 2017.
The car was chased, but the driver headed off road and lost police.
When police found the car abandoned there was a quantity of heroin and crack cocaine as well as drug dealing “graft” phones.
Bascombe and a second man were later picked up by police nearby and mobile phone evidence linked him to the drugs.
He was jailed for three years and five months after admitting being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine and failing to surrender to police.
Dean Bamber
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Dean Bamber battered his girlfriend in an alleyway until a passerby intervened.
He “straddled” Nicola Wilcock, pinned her down and repeatedly punched and slapped her in the face.
But his shouting and swearing - including calling the victim a “dirty little tramp” - was overheard by Jamie Skelton.
Mr Skelton yelled at Bamber, 45, to stop, but couldn’t reach the couple, because the alleyway gate was locked.
He rang the police and they rescued Miss Wilcock, who was left with a swollen, bruised face and a bloodied nose.
The attack unfolded behind Bamber’s home in Derbyshire Hill Road in St Helens, at around 5.15pm, on October 8, 2019.
Prosecutors said they both “lived a chaotic lifestyle” and were recovering heroin addicts, who were drunk at the time.
Bamber, who has 45 past convictions for 73 offences, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.
He was jailed for nine months.
Paul Britton
(Image: Merseyside Police)
Paedophile Paul Britton was confronted by the woman he sexually abused from the age of 13.
The woman looked the 56-year-old in the eye in court and said: “I will not let you rob me of having a life.”
Cold-hearted Britton displayed no emotion and stared ahead as she read out a powerful victim personal statement.
The predator had befriended his vulnerable victim and told her “no one would believe” her if she spoke out against him.
She told him: “Last year I tried to kill myself. I felt like I could not carry on and I would never be able to get through this.
“But what justice would that be? You have the right to carry on with your life. Why should you carry on?”
He was found guilty of eight counts of sexual offences against a child under the age of 16, committed in Moreton, Wirral.
Britton, now of Swaffham in Norfolk, was jailed for nine years.
Ian Trainer
(Image: Merseyside Police)
“Nuisance” pensioner Ian Trainer who terrorised his neighbour by playing Classic FM radio at an “unbelievable” volume told a judge “put the ball and chain one me”.
The 82-year-old, of Eaton Drive, Aintree, was given a restraining order in December 2019, which prohibited him from playing “any audio at a volume above normal talking level” between 9am and 10pm.
However, despite having previously been jailed for the same offence, on his release Trainer continued to play loud music.
On Tuesday, December 17, a police officer attended Trainer’s property after being called out for a complaint of noise by his neighbour Thomas Thompson.
When arrested, Trainer said “I like playing music at a level I enjoy” and couldn’t wear headphones because they “irritated his ears”.
Mr Thompson said Trainer played music every day of the week, meaning he went out early and came home late to avoid the noise.
Trainer was convicted of breaching his restraining order and jailed for 24 weeks.
Paul Clarke
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Paul Clarke hit a little boy with a wooden paddle then molested him.
The former nurse, 55, was convicted of four offences of taking indecent images of children in 1996.
But he didn’t reveal this information to the family of a young child and was trusted to look after him on occasion.
The paedophile, then 53, of Walkers Lane, Clock Face, St Helens, got drunk when with the child.
The boy said he then got out his “slapper stick” or “whacker” which he used to hit his bottom, before fondling his penis.
When confronted by the boy’s family, Clarke denied any wrongdoing.
But police searched his home and found more than 202 Category C indecent images of young girls on a pen drive and seized the wooden paddle.
The pervert was convicted of sexual assault and possessing the photos after a trial.
Clarke was jailed for three years.
Shaun Bowes and Steven Gee
Shaun Bowes and Steven Gee attacked a pensioner with a hammer and his own garden fork, leaving him unconscious with a broken leg.
Ernest Stockley, 73, was viciously assaulted by the brothers after he shouted at them from his garden, at around 7.30pm on June 29, 2019.
He told the pair off as they fought with two other women further down the street, before 35-year-old Bowes called him an “old b*****d”.
Mr Stockley held his garden fork out in front to defend himself but Bowes, a dad-of-two, punched him multiple times to the back of the head.
Bowes then snatched the fork and started to attack him with it, causing him to fall to the ground, where he struck him two or three times.
His brother Gee took the fork and the brothers walked back to their home further along the road - Dorothy Street in Thatto Heath, St Helens.
But Gee came back out with a hammer - incensed that his brother had received a small cut - and decided to punish Mr Stockley.
He said “I’ll f***ing kill you for hurting my brother” before repeatedly hitting the victim with the hammer as he lay on the ground.
The OAP was struck on his arms as he tried to protect his head and his left leg was left broken with the bone sticking out.
The keen gardener, who is still on crutches, faced surgery on his knee and had suffered a further infection in his leg wound.
Gee, 37, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was jailed for 12 years and seven months, with an extended two years on licence.
Bowes, 35, was found guilty of wounding with intent after a trial and jailed for five and a half years.
Michael Stone
Paedophile teacher Michael Stone had sex with a vulnerable pupil at his home while his wife was away.
The then 41-year-old, groomed and abused the girl, 12, while working as an IT teacher at a Merseyside school.
The married man convinced the victim they had a “special relationship”, before he repeatedly molested her over 12 months.
He made the girl perform sex acts in his classroom, in his car, and even brought her back to their house, in the 1990s.
When she was 13, Stone drove her to his Frodsham home when his wife, who was also a teacher, was away and had sex with her.
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Stone admitted two counts of indecent assault, which involved kissing, but denied nine other counts of indecent assault and indecency with a child.
However, when giving evidence during a trial, the now 68-year-old maintained the kisses had just been “pecks” on the cheek.
The jury heard there was no charge relating to Stone having sex with the girl, because there was a time limit for it to have been brought.
Stone, of Silverdale Close, Frodsham, was unanimously found guilty and jailed for six and a half years, with an extended year on licence.
Stephanie Smithwhite
(Image: PA)
Prison officer Stephanie Smithwhite cut a hole in her trousers so she could have sex with Curtis Warren while she was on duty.
The 40-year-old became obsessed with the drugs kingpin - even getting his name tattooed on her body - and sent him erotic love notes.
Smithwhite, who sent him a photo of herself wearing a catsuit, had sex with the career criminal, nicknamed “Cocky,” in the kitchen, laundry room and in his cell at the maximum security HMP Frankland, near Durham.
The steamy tryst lasted for six months, between June and December 2018, while Warren was serving 13 years for conspiracy to import drugs and a further 10-year sentence for failing to pay back £198m in Proceeds of Crime.
(Image: Handout/Scott Heppell/PA Wire)
Investigators found they had called each other 213 times in just three months at the jail, which houses some of the UK’s most infamous killers.
They found a white Samsung phone in her car which was only used to ring one number - traced to Frankland Prison, and used by Warren.
Smithwhite was jailed for two years after admitting two counts of misconduct in a public office, with one charge relating to their sexual relationship.
The second count was linked to her failing to report that Warren, now 56, had a secret mobile phone, said to be no bigger than a £2 coin.
She denied the hole in her prison uniform trousers was for sexual purposes, but Judge Jonathan Carroll said it was “hard to imagine why else it was there.”
Helena Robertson
(Image: cheshirepolice)
Helena Robertson lay in the road and hurled racist abuse at a police officer.
The 42-year-old, of Cunningham Drive, Runcorn, abused a custody suite officer before spitting all over her cell in what a judge branded a “disgraceful” episode.
Robertson was arrested after she turned aggressive on her probation officer in Westfield Road at 5.40pm on January 15.
She rose to her feet and “came at” her, fuming: “You’re my fing probation officer, I’ll fing have you.”
Robertson left the scene and police found her on a bench on Church Street, before she launched into a racist rant when taken into custody.
Earlier that afternoon, Robertson had called 999, claiming a man was pointing something through her window, in a hoax that prompted a fruitless police search.
Robertson was jailed for 10 weeks for breaching a criminal behaviour order.
James Lloyd
(Image: Merseyside Police)
James Lloyd claimed he was “minding” a gun hung up on his girlfriend’s bed.
He was caught red handed with the firearm when officers raided the home of his partner, Billy Jo McGee.
Lloyd suggested he had just been given the lethal Glock pistol and ammunition to hold on to, but a judge rejected his account.
Police were let into the house in Elizabeth Road in Fazakerley by another woman and found 28-year-old Lloyd and 19-year-old Miss McGee asleep next to the gun.
The couple were arrested and denied any wrongdoing.
But Lloyd changed his plea to guilty and Billy Jo McGee was cleared of all charges.
Lloyd, of Bowland Drive, Litherland, had more than 40 previous convictions.
He admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and 14 rounds of 9mm ammunition and was jailed for five years.
Robert Linton
(Image: Merseyside Police)
A terrified woman escaped her killer ex-boyfriend’s clutches after he tried to strangle her and held her hostage.
Robert Linton threw his victim onto the bed at her home in Birkenhead and tied her up with dressing gown cords on December 19, 2019.
The 45-year-old, once known as Robert Noble, was serving a life licence for the murder of American tourist Alyson Kaplan in 2003.
He strangled Ms Kaplan with a scarf in his hotel room in London.
Linton, of Craven Street, Birkenhead, was released from jail in July 2016.
He had confessed his killer past to his new partner during their 20-month relationship.
But the couple split in 2019 and he confronted her after being paranoid about her going on dating websites.
He kept his latest victim hostage in the room for seven hours, but she managed to escape while he slept.
Having already been recalled to prison, Linton admitted false imprisonment.
He was jailed for three years, with two years extended licence.
Michael Waring
(Image: Merseyside Police)
Michael Waring gave a female shop assistant a black eye and threatened to kill her with a bottle of wine.
The 29-year-old punched Hana Bensiad in the face at Quickway Convenience Store in Vauxhall, after she stopped him leaving without paying for a £15 bottle of gin.
Waring took a bottle of wine from the display and smashed it on the door in an attempt to smash the glass, so that he could escape on December 16, 2019.
When that failed, Waring went behind the counter, grabbed frightened customer Daisy Gill and threatened to kill her, saying he had a knife, then punched Ms Bensiad in the face, causing a black eye.
Waring, of Vescock Street, Everton, admitted robbery and criminal damage.
He was jailed for four years and three months.
Kurtis Nelson and Lee Brown
A crowbar-wielding burglar who was told he would miss the birth of his children while behind bars snapped back at the judge, bragging he would be “out in a week”.
Kurtis Nelson, 26, tried to jump out of the window of a stolen Audi A3 as it was rammed by police.
Nelson, of Kemsley Road, Dovecot, earlier carried out a burglary at Spitroast restaurant in Ormskirk, but it was interrupted by officers.
He was injured in the crash, which also saw getaway driver Lee Brown, 26, of Muirhead Avenue, West Derby, bump into the police car during a 90mph chase.
Prosecutors said they and a third unknown man smashed their way into three businesses in the space of a few hours to steal tills and safes.
Brown admitted three burglaries, using a stolen car and driving offences and was sentenced to a total of 50 weeks in jail and banned from driving for two years.
Nelson pleaded guilty to the burglaries and assaulting a police officer.
He was handed a 38-week prison sentence but declared: “I’ll be out in a week.”
Norman Search
(Image: merpol)
Pensioner Norman Search repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl and tried to pretend it was to explain “where babies came from”.
Search molested the child, who was under the age of 10, at different locations.
On seven occasions, the 74-year-old committed sex acts against the girl, which has left her emotionally and mentally scarred.
Search, of Tenlands Drive in Prescot, had told the girl it was “their secret”.
Search, who pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual abuse, was jailed for nine years and nine months.
Brendan Rawlins
Brendan Rawlins tried to strangle a young mum with his phone charger and held a rusty knife to her neck.
The 37-year-old broke into the woman’s home and threatened to kill her, saying: “I’ll cut you up and hide you and no one will ever know.”
The thug was laughing as he made the threats and claimed he was going to cut her head off, before tightening the wire around her throat.
Rawlins also put the blade to the victim’s neck and the petrified mum “could feel the cold edge of the metal”.
She eventually managed to escape and ran to a nearby bed and breakfast, where she arrived “hysterical and crying”, on August 18, 2019.
Rawlins, of Brelade Road, Stoneycroft, who had 15 convictions for 47 offences,admitted two counts of making threats to kill and one of a common assault.
Judge Robert Warnock described unrepentant Rawlins as a “violent, selfish man” and jailed him for five years and two months.
David Almond
Paedophile David Almond left one of his victims in “hell and purgatory” as a result of his hideous abuse.
The 76-year-old sexually assaulted three girls and one boy, who were all under the age of 14, in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was arrested in 2017 and charged with eight counts of indecent assault and four counts of indecency with a child.
Almond, of Summertrees Avenue, Greasby, Wirral, denied any wrongdoing, but was found guilty after a trial.
One female victim read: “I feel that my abuser stole and forever changed my childhood spirit.
“I have hit rock bottom so many times, I have visited hell and purgatory for no fault of my own.”
Almond was jailed for 13 years, with an extended year on licence.
Daniel Lockley
Daniel Lockley claimed £30,000 of cocaine and cannabis found in his car and home was for “personal use”.
Police stopped the BMW the 35-year-old was driving in Warrington shortly before midnight on January 15, 2020.
They found wraps of cocaine, electronic scales and plastic bags, plus a tick list, during a search of the car in Great Sankey.
Officers later recovered “significant quantities” of cannabis in a raid at his home in Willoughby Close, and an address in Livingstone Close, both in Warrington.
It was then Lockley made the ludicrous claim that all of the Class A and Class B drugs were for his own consumption.
But forensic analysis of his mobile phones revealed numerous drug-related messages, including offers to sell both drugs.
He admitted possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply and was jailed for three years.
Lee Abbott
(Image: Cheshire Police)
Lee Abbott knifed pub landlord Christian Thornton to death after he barred him from the Hammer & Pincers in Widnes.
Sickening CCTV footage showed the drunken kickboxer pull a kitchen knife out of a rucksack and plunge it into his victim’s heart.
The thug, whose blade snapped in half, later told armed police when arrested: “You don’t need any evidence, I stabbed him to f***.”
But following his apparent confession, he decided to deny murder and forced the dad-of-three’s family to endure a harrowing trial.
Abbott, 35, of Rose Street, Widnes, admitted manslaughter and possessing an offensive weapon in public on Sunday, August 11, 2019.
He had previously threatened to burn down the 49-year-old victim’s pub, above which he lived with his wife, children and family dog.
The dad-of-two told jurors he was a paranoid “madman” who “lost the plot” after being sexually abused by a “gangster” as a teenager.
The ex-cocaine addict said he used to think he was Jesus and the attack was “a cry for help” and the culmination of “20 years of hell”.
However, even his own psychiatric expert agreed he was not psychotic at the time and had no defence of “diminished responsibility”.
After a jury found Abbott guilty of murder, Judge Brian Cummings, QC, said the killing was “an act of both brutality and cowardice”.
Abbott was jailed for life, with a minimum of 28 years.
John McCarfrae
(Image: Merseyside Police)
John McCarfrae was punched by a brave teenage girl during a despicable burglary.
The 43-year-old broke into an Old Swan home while the householder was asleep downstairs on January 22, 2020.
But the victim’s son and his girlfriend arrived and disturbed him as he stole items, including a dummy and rosary beads.
McCarfrae fled downstairs, but was tripped over by the girl, who then stood on the back of his feet, until he grabbed her.
She punched him twice and they began to wrestle, only for the burglar to push her against a parked car outside the house.
The girl began screaming and her boyfriend and his dad rushed out and were able to tackle McCarfrae to the ground.
Police arrived and seized a rucksack of tools, including gloves and mole grips, from McCarfrae, who had taken crack cocaine.
He later claimed he had been “on a bender” and someone told him how to remove locks from doors to get into houses.
The crook, formerly of Eccleshill Road, Stoneycroft, admitted burglary, assault and another attempted burglary.
He was jailed for two years and eight months.
Callum Catterall
(Image: cheshirepolice)
Ungrateful brat arsonist Callum Catterall set fire to his uncle’s flat in Widnes because he wanted some “attention”.
The 20-year-old was homeless until his mum arranged for his uncle to let him stay with him to provide some stability and access to support.
But the cannabis addict betrayed that generosity by first damaging his uncle’s TV and coffee table, then setting fire to paper under a bed and curtains.
Catterall fled the first-floor Halton Housing flat and headed to a Tesco Extra, where he told a security guard “I set my own flat on fire” and “you’ll see me in the paper tomorrow for burning down my own flat”, on October 26, 2019.
A woman in the flat below was woken by smoke alarms and reported the blaze.
After firefighters tackled the blaze, Catterall arrived on a stolen bike and told his family: “Yeah, so what? You left me in the flat for two days.”
He later claimed he did it “to get attention from his mother” and admitted causing more than £3,000 of damage.
Catterall admitted arson reckless as to whether life endangered and was locked up for three years.
Adam Rice
Drug dealing taxi driver Adam Rice was caught red-handed with a stash of cocaine and almost £2,000 in cash.
The 29-year-old denied supplying to passengers, but admitted delivering wraps to drug users to pay off his gambling debts.
Police spotted Rice driving a Vauxhall Astra on Gorsey Lane, Litherland on the evening of February 10, 2019.
A man got in the car and it drove off, but he got out again after a short distance, so officers stopped Rice in nearby Pendle Drive.
They found 17 wraps of cocaine and £1,900 in cash, two snap bags of cannabis bush and resin, and cannabis grinders.
Rice, of Chesterfield Road, Crosby, was jailed for three years.
Mitchel Watson
(Image: Merseyside Police)
Sick paedophile Mitchel Watson burst into tears and claimed “he couldn’t help” amassing child sex abuse images.
The 23-year-old, of Clifton Place, West Derby, was found to have nearly 7,000 “foul” indecent images of children.
More than 500 of the photos, downloaded and shared by the pervert, were ranked Category A - the most serious.
Watson’s behaviour culminated in him sending lewd messages to what he thought was a 14-year-old boy in Texas.
He asked the boy to send naked photos, sent over pictures of his genitals, and discussed sex with the child.
Watson admitted 10 sexual offences including possessing, downloading and distributing indecent images, and communicating sexually with a person under 16.
He was jailed for two years.
Adam Bennett
Adam Bennett controlled a woman he met on Tinder and even threatened to kidnap their baby after she fell pregnant.
He was serving a 21-month sentence for tormenting a different ex-girlfriend, once dousing her in cleaning spray and vowing to set her on fire.
But it emerged the 28-year-old had subjected a second woman to a similar hellish experience, who he was seeing at the same time.
Bennett’s relationship with this victim fluctuated, particularly when she discovered he’d been two-timing her with another woman.
The plumber, of Pinehurst Road, Anfield, even pledged to slash his girlfriend’s mum’s face, warning that she “needed silencing”,
Bennett, who admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, also admitted escaping lawful custody in September 2019 when he fled the dock.
He was handed an additional 10 months behind bars.
Birkenhead burglary gang
A Birkenhead-based gang were responsible for 30 commercial burglaries and five vehicle thefts.
They targeted pubs, restaurants, bus depots, convenience stores, social clubs and even dry cleaners during their crime spree.
In an attempt to evade capture, the gang stole number plates and used them on stolen vehicles when out on crime jobs.
They used a stolen high powered Audi S4 car to target businesses and homes in areas including Chester, Ellesmere Port, Wirral, between August and November 2019.
Their crime spree was brought to an end on November 7, 2019 when officers raided the suspects' homes and seized stolen property, clothing, tools and mobile phones.
Gary Platt, 43, of Anthorn Close, Noctorum, Birkenhead; Kieran Platt, 25, of Sandalwood Drive, Noctorum, Birkenhead; Joseph Salla, 19, of Oakleaf Mews, Noctorum, Birkenhead; Joshua Wilkinson, 22, of Dalesway, Heswall; Lee Hodgin, 33, of Lansdowne Road, Birkenhead; and Peter Mighall, 45, of no fixed address; were arrested and all admitted conspiracy to commit burglary.
There sentences were: Gary Platt, six years, Kieran Platt, six years, Salla, four and a half years, Wilkinson, four and a half years, Hodgin, six years and nine months, Mighall, three years and nine months.
Sean Cleaver
(Image: Cumbria Police)
Sean Cleaver peddled heroin in Cumbria and tried to “nobble” a frail drug addict he’d helped brutally rob.
The debt-ridden crook was 23 when he travelled to Carlisle during early 2017 to supply the Class A drug as part of a county lines group.
Cleaver and teenage partner-in-crime Braden Moreton were stopped by police on February 3 having travelled 120 miles by taxi on a suspected drugs run.
Both were later released by police who found no illegal substances.
The pair returned four days later, initially visiting a first-floor flat on Carlisle’s Old Harraby estate at the centre of an illegal home takeover tactic known as “cuckooing”.
With two others, they then went to the ground-floor property below where Cleaver - nicknamed “JP” - demanded drug debt money from addict and chronic osteoarthritis sufferer Paul Savage.
Cleaver violently attacked 49-year-old Mr Savage while Moreton - then aged 18 - set on him with a hammer, a wrench and even the man’s own crutch, which left him with a broken jaw and placed in an induced coma.
Cleaver - the subject of a BBC Crimewatch appeal while on the run - admitted being concerned in heroin supply, robbery and perverting the course of justice, which related to his efforts to stop Mr Savage giving evidence.
Police caught Cleaver, 26, of Gresham Street, Fairfield, after he was hospitalised after being attacked by four males wielding knives and a baseball bat. He suffered a broken tibia, was stabbed and slashed repeatedly to the face, arm and legs.
He was jailed for 12 years.
Brendan Cole
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Brendan Cole stabbed a Jobcentre security guard in the back then blamed it on seeing his best friend knifed to death.
The 19-year-old attacked his victim with a large carving knife at the Jobcentre Plus in Belle Vale in October 2019.
Cole previously witnessed Danny Gee-Jamieson, 16, being stabbed in a park “straightener” in 2018.
But it didn’t stop him taking a blade to a Jobcentre appointment at 11am on October 7, 2019, when he was aggressive with the woman interviewing him.
Asked to leave, he said “I’m going to batter her, I’m going to rip her fing face off” and told a security guard “you’re not going to fing stop me”.
CCTV footage showed Cole throw two punches and a kick at his victim, then stab him in the back, leaving a wound requiring four stitches.
The teen, of Lee Park Avenue, Gateacre, also kicked another guard, and threatened him “I will stab you”, before he fled.
He admitted wounding with intent, assault and possessing an offensive weapon in public - the second time he has been caught with a knife.
Judge David Aubrey, QC, said he had hoped Cole seeing his friend killed would have made him choose to never carry a knife again.
He locked him up for five years and three months, with an extended three years on licence.
Badruldin Ahmed and Yusuf Omar
(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Clubland drug dealers Badruldin Ahmed and Yusuf Omar were part of a Liverpool city centre cocaine trade.
They were arrested in an investigation into a network of dealers who roamed the Ropewalks area, targeting party-goers with cocaine, heroin, ketamine, MDMA and cannabis.
They hung around on Bold Street, Slater Street, Wood Street and Concert Square and made little attempt to blend into the thousands of clubbers that surrounded them.
(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
As well as selling drugs they would rip off some customers by selling them crushed paracetamol rather than cocaine.
Yusuf Omar, 26, of Geraint Street, Toxteth was sentenced to four years for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Badruldin Ahmed, 32, of Whittier Street, Toxteth was sentenced to three years, nine months for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
David McCrimmon
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
David McCrimmon swigged stolen whiskey and threatened a customer with a knife to get sent back to jail.
The “institutionalised” shoplifter walked into Kelly’s Discount Booze in Litherland and took a bottle of Frosty Jack’s Cider.
The 44-year-old serial crook, of no fixed address, then asked a member of staff for a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.
But he “simply walked out the store” and when followed by a worker, threw the cap at him and started drinking it.
He tried to get in the shop again and when a brave customer intervened, pulled out a bloodstained kitchen knife and said: “I just want to get arrested again, I’m part of the institution, that’s why I’ve got to do this.”
McCrimmon, who has 15 past convictions for 21 offences, admitted theft, possession of a knife and threatening with a blade.
The alcoholic, who has mental health issues, once sexually assaulted a 13-year-old schoolgirl, putting his hand up her dress.
He was jailed for 18 months and banned from Kelly’s Discount Booze.
Michael Wilde
(Image: Runcorn Weekly News)
Chemistry teacher Michael Wilde molested a pupil on three separate occasions during the 1970s when he taught at Wade Deacon High School in Widnes.
The young boy needed two bladder operations later in life because of the abuse.
Dad-of-three Wilde, now 70, was jailed for a fourth time in February, with all his convictions linked to a spree of offending during the early to mid 1970s.
Since the first batch of abuse was reported in the media, more victims have come forward, with a total of seven boys, now adults, complaining to police.
The latest victim, who only discovered Wilde’s abuse of other boys when a taxi driver mentioned it as they drove past the Widnes school, kept his secret for decades before disclosing it to his brother and wife.
The pervert, of Drake Close, Warrington - whose wife attended court to support him - admitted three counts of indecent assault and was jailed for 12 months.
Gerrard Gandy
A drug baron behind a £12m cocaine and ecstasy racket told fellow inmates “I’m f***ed” when caught with an iPhone in jail.
Gerrard Gandy was one of the leaders of a gang who supplied Class A drugs between Merseyside, Lancashire and the south coast.
Lancashire Police recovered 53kg of cocaine and 150,000 ecstasy tablets, plus more than £250,000 in dirty cash, during an operation launched in March 2014.
From a caravan on Fleet Lane in St Helens they seized 35kg of high purity cocaine and more than £200,000 in cash - the force’s largest ever cocaine haul.
Gandy, then 34, was jailed for 14 years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and money laundering offences in August 2015.
The dealer, of Orrell Road, Wigan, was serving his sentence at Category D open prison HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire in 2019.
Prison guards spotted now 39-year-old Gandy inside another inmate’s cell, at around 6.40pm on Friday, August 23, 2019.
He was acting suspiciously and when an iPhone 6 on a bed was seized and he was led away, he told other inmates: “I’m f***ed.”
Gandy admitted possessing a prohibited item in jail and was sentenced to six months in jail, consecutive to his existing term.
John Manley
John Manley “erupted like a volcano” and smashed up a Travelodge with a digger over not being paid.
He left a “trail of destruction” and £443,000 of damage at the newly built hotel at Liverpool Innovation Park off Edge Lane.
Mobile phone footage captured the dad-of-two going on a rampage while yelling: “All you had to do was pay me my £600.”
It was revealed the 35-year-old’s wages hadn’t been paid for 12 days, meaning he had to go without electricity and food.
And Manley - who couldn’t have his children to stay over as a result - said the argument took him back to his childhood abuse.
His defence lawyers said he first tried to kill himself at the age of 10 and told doctors he “just totally lost it” on January 21, 2019.
Prosecutors said he “tore” into the almost complete 71-bed hotel in a Bobcat hydraulic digger destroying ceiling, walls and wiring.
One of two workers managed to disconnect the fuel line despite Manley, of St Aidan’s Way, Netherton, swinging the digger around.
It was subcontractor MF Groundworks who owed him money but the hotel couldn’t open for six weeks, leaving many workers out of pocket.
Manley had seven past convictions for criminal damage, had threatened his mum at knifepoint, and was convicted of harassment to a partner.
Judge David Aubrey, QC, said: “What you did was totally and utterly disproportionate to any grievance you may have had concerning your wages and anyone who thinks otherwise is misguided. It was destruction in the extreme.”
He jailed Manley for five years and four months, and banned him from driving for four years and one month.
Michael Wilkinson
(Image: Merseyside Police)
Michael Wilkinson stabbed a rival drug dealer to death in a turf war for control of the Southdene area of Kirkby .
The 19-year-old lay in wait for James Halewood, 21, before plunging a blade 11cm deep into his left armpit.
James fled to a nearby store - telling a shop worker he had been attacked by “Mikey” - but died around 90 minutes later .
Wilkinson, 19, was seen by a witness calmly leaving in a Renault Megane after the afternoon attack, on July 7, 2019.
He then ditched his iPhone and the car, shaved his distinctive “ketwig” hair, and went into hiding in the Tower Hill area.
The drug dealer, of Mosslawn Road, claimed he did this because he heard there was a “bounty” on his head.
(Image: Merseyside Police)
He denied any involvement in the attack, despite admitting he was driving in the area in a Megane at the time of the stabbing.
Wilkinson, who did not have any previous convictions, was found guilty of murder by a majority of 10-2, following a two-week trial.
Judge David Aubrey, QC, said: “You were a member of a group who were seeking to dominate and take control of the Southdene area of Kirkby.”
He added: “The deceased also supplied drugs and thus there was rivalry if not a feud between two opposing groups.”
The judge said he was “streetwise” and wanted to get “vengeance” because James hadn’t heeded prior threats and warnings.
He jailed Wilkinson for life, with a minimum of 20 years behind bars.
Mark Jones
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Mark Jones tried to rape a little girl when her mum’s back was turned - then pretended to be asleep.
The monster - who unbeknown to the child’s parents was already a convicted sex offender - targeted his victim in 2019.
The 36-year-old, of Bronington Avenue, Bromborough, launched a drunken attack on the defenceless infant at his house.
She screamed and her mum - who was outside having a cigarette - rushed in and found her daughter extremely upset.
Jones pretended to be asleep, but the child told her mum what had happened and later described the attack to the police.
The paedophile was convicted of attempted rape after a trial.
Jones was previously jailed for 10 months in 2015 for twice sexually assaulting a woman in another drunken attack.
He was jailed for 11 years, with an extended five years on licence.
James Kelly’s £8m cocaine gang
(Image: merpol)
Six men ran a £8m cocaine trafficking plot around England and Wales.
The organised criminal gang (OCG) sourced wholesale high purity coke on Merseyside, and transported it across the country.
Using high tech Encro Phones, which makes messages invisible to investigating detectives, they ran their enterprise from a house in St Helens.
(Image: merpol)
The devices are favoured by criminals, costing £1,400 for six months of use.
Up to 500kgs of cocaine were packaged up and sent out to locations including Bradford, Bolton, Newcastle, London, Surrey, Nottingham, Scunthorpe, Grimsby, Sheffield and Wrexham.
(Image: merpol)
The six traffickers included 36-year-old ringleader James Kelly, who controlled the hub from his Bleak Hill Road house, who was handed 19 years behind bars.
His brother, 42-year-old Stephen Kelly, of Rumford Place, Liverpool city centre was the “money man” and was entrusted to launder the cash for the mob. He was sentenced to 20 years and nine months.
(Image: merpol)
Marc Dermott, 32, kept record books, or ticklists, at his address on Southgate Road in Old Swan, which referenced the drug deals taking place around the country, but also two fully-working Russian pistols, and viable ammunition, some from Bulgaria. He was sentenced to 19 years and six months.
Dean Woods, 37, of Water Street, Liverpool city centre, was a high-level and “highly-trusted” member of the gang, who undertook 30 trips to deliver cocaine or collect bags of cash. He was jailed for 12 years.
(Image: merpol)
Main courier Paul Speedy, 57, of Cumberland Close in Anfield, was a “highly active courier” who was James Kelly’s “go-to man” and remained loyal to the ringleader. He was sentenced to eight years and eight months.
(Image: merpol)
Temporary courier Liam Hart, 36, of Kerr Close, Kirkby, who was only recruited into the operation when Speedy went on holiday to Turkey, was handed six years and nine months behind bars.
All pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and Dermott also admitted two counts of firearm possession, and one of ammunition possession.
Jake Glenholmes
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Deli Mob gangster Jake Glenholmes confronted a fellow prisoner with a “fearsome” improvised weapon at HMP Liverpool.
Prison officers believed the 27-year-old intended to attack the inmate, who was being escorted from his cell at Walton jail.
But the other man lashed out, before guards dragged both to the floor and seized a “sharpened metal pole” from Glenholmes.
Defence lawyers suggested Glenholmes, of Dunluce Street, Walton, carried the weapon because of the notoriety of his gang.
Glenholmes was locked up for four years and eight months in 2016, after police found a £32,000 cannabis farm in his home.
He admitted producing cannabis,
Lincolnshire breaking news: Latest updates
Sources at British Steel have confirmed reports the company, which employs more than 4,000 workers mainly in Scunthorpe, is on the brink of administration.
AFP/Getty Images Copyright: AFP/Getty Images
The firm is in the final stages of talks with the government about securing a bailout.
Representatives of the Unite union are due to meet business secretary Greg Clark this morning to discuss the future of the company.
The union is urging British Steel owner Greybull Capital to find a solution.
Last week, the firm announced it had the backing of shareholders and lenders and that operations continued as usual while it sought a “permanent solution” to its financial troubles.
A ministerial statement on assistance for the company was expected yesterday afternoon, but that didn’t come.
However, it’s thought ministers want to have the situation sorted out before the European elections on Thursday.