Forty-four Merseyside criminals were jailed during August, including a thug who pushed his girlfriend out of a first floor window, a woman who tricked a dementia sufferer into believing she was his daughter, and a burglar who watched his ex's mum sleep. The cases were heard at Liverpool Crown Court.
High-Profile Cases
Nathan Owen, 33, of the Grove in Prestatyn, a former teaching assistant, called 999 to report that the brakes on his Jaguar had failed while he was speeding down the motorway. Officers boxed him in on the M62, but the "Walter Mitty character" had invented the defect in a "frighteningly stupid" scheme to get out of a car finance agreement he could not afford. He admitted dangerous driving and two counts of fraud by false representation and was jailed for four years and three months.
Joseph McCollum, 39, of Ulster Road, was linked to an Uzi submachine gun hidden in a grandad's attic and a second gun used in a shooting seven years ago. A judge told him: "There are numerous occasions of people being murdered or accidentally killed by criminals who use weapons like this. You were performing a vital function for them, which helps them to be murderers and serious criminals who eat away at the heart of this city." He admitted two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of ammunition for a firearm when prohibited for life, and was jailed for six years.
Fraud and Deception
Deborah Swift, 54, also known as Deborah Jukes, siphoned more than £5,000 from a golf club and more than £20,000 from an equestrian centre where she looked after the books. She pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and theft by employee in relation to the equestrian centre but was convicted of two counts of fraud by abuse of position and one count of theft in relation to the golf club. She was jailed for two years and eight months.
Natalie Riley, 44, of Geneva Road, tricked a dementia sufferer into believing she was his daughter before stealing from him. She was caught in the act by the victim's niece, who remotely watched her breaking into her uncle's home through CCTV cameras. She wept as a judge jailed her for her "mean" crime. Riley admitted one count of burglary and was imprisoned for three years and handed a five-year restraining order.
Violence and Abuse
James Murray, 34, formerly of Prescot, subjected his girlfriend to years of abuse before pushing her out of a first floor window. Over seven years, he threw bleach over her clothes, forbade her from getting a job, and did not allow her to seek help when she required hospital treatment. He told a judge as he was jailed: "I've loved her since day one. I'm sorry for what I've done." Murray admitted unlawful wounding, controlling and coercive behaviour and possession of cannabis, and was handed three years and nine months.
Thomas Britnell, 40, formerly of Haven Road in Fazakerley, told a 999 call that he was "like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" as he stabbed at his bedbound girlfriend's face. Police burst into their home to find him holding a steak knife to her throat. He admitted making threats with an offensive weapon in a private place and making threats to kill, and was jailed for 28 months.
Drugs and Firearms
Ronnie Beardmore, 22, of Waterloo Road in New Brighton, stashed a sawn-off shotgun and converted blank-firing pistol in the flat of a friend who was away fighting in Ukraine. Tens of thousands of pounds of heroin, cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms were found hidden in an Under Armour rucksack, Aldi and Footasylum bags and Kinder eggs. He admitted two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of prohibited ammunition and possession of heroin, cocaine, cannabis resin and cannabis with intent to supply, and was jailed for 11 years and eight months.
Bradley Thompson, 40, of Martingale Close, used the handle "Mind Waiter" on EncroChat to plot the supply of more than 150kg of heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis, conspiracy to produce heroin and two counts of possession of criminal property, and was jailed for 14 years.
Paul McNabb, of Queensbury Grove, Huyton, was caught with 38 blocks of high purity cocaine in his van. He used the handle "Mango Milk" on EncroChat to organise the supply of cannabis and cocaine. He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of drugs and possession of cocaine with intent to supply, and was jailed for 10 years and eight months.
Other Notable Sentences
David Finney, 54, of Seath Avenue in St Helens, claimed he had found a gun beside a canal after police uncovered the weapon inside a sock during a lockup raid. He pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, possession of a firearm and two counts of possession of ammunition without a certificate, and was jailed for 10 years.
Ediongseyene Essien, 32, of no fixed address, a care worker, robbed and burgled five of his former patients after losing his job. He broke into the homes of four elderly and disabled victims, including a couple in their 80s, and later struck at the property of a blind wheelchair user. He admitted two counts of robbery, four of burglary and a charge of fraud, and was jailed for eight years with restraining orders banning him from contacting his victims for a decade.
Haneef Chowdhury, 29, of no fixed address, was part of a gang that threatened to cut a five-year-old boy's throat and stole thousands of pounds in cash after breaking into a family's flat through the roof. He had visited the address days earlier posing as a British Gas worker. He admitted robbery and was jailed for 14 years with an indefinite restraining order.
Steven Wales, 61, of Pope Street in Bootle, dumped a killer's body in a wheelie bin. Paul Smith was found dead in an overgrown garden outside a derelict house on Thirlmere Road in Everton, having died of a drug overdose in Wales's bath. Wales admitted one count of preventing a lawful and decent burial and was handed 28 months behind bars.
Aaron Ashbrook, 59, of Windermere Avenue in Warrington, a disgraced scout leader, was jailed for 12 years for sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy. He was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault and three of making indecent images of children following a trial.
