Ten criminals from Merseyside have been jailed over the past week, receiving a combined total of more than 63 years in prison. Among those locked up are a drug dealer who accidentally shot his girlfriend, an ex-Everton academy footballer and his Phil Collins lookalike brother, and a former Merseyside Police officer who prowled the streets looking for sex workers while on duty and in uniform.
Violent Attacks and Drug Dealing
Glyn Holland, 41, of Meadfoot Road in Moreton, repeatedly stabbed a stranger in a wheelchair while shouting "have it, have it". The victim was chatting about football with friends moments before he was knifed in the chest as children played in the street metres away. The grandad has been left a "shell of himself" following the unprovoked attack, which left him fighting for his life. Holland admitted wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for nine years.
Ali Karadas, 21, of Denman Drive in Tuebrook, accidentally shot his girlfriend in the legs before leaving her seriously injured and bleeding. He fled the scene of the shooting at his family home in Toxteth, disposed of the gun, and was found sleeping in a construction site the following morning. Karadas admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and unlawful wounding and was jailed for eight years.
Drug Trafficking and Police Misconduct
Jordan Gerrard, 35, of William Jessop Way, an ex-Everton academy footballer, and his brother Dean Gerrard, 38, of Richard Grove, were jailed for nearly 25 years for drug trafficking. Jordan used EncroChat to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis, as well as sourcing and selling ammunition for firearms. Dean was identified due to his likeness to musician Phil Collins. Dean admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis and conspiracy to conceal or transfer criminal property, and was jailed for 11 years and three months. Jordan pleaded guilty to multiple charges and was handed 13 years behind bars.
Former Merseyside Police Constable Carl Edwards, 37, offered sex workers money for a threesome and told an at-risk teenager that she was his Christmas present while rubbing her leg. He also prowled areas frequented by sex workers asking for "business" while in uniform and driving a marked patrol car. Edwards was convicted of three counts of misconduct in a public office and two data protection offences and was jailed for 15 months.
Other Sentences
Ryan Theaker, 30, of Park Lane in Netherton, a former Merseyside Matrix officer, was jailed for 11 years with a further five on licence for rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration. His victim captured nearly 85 minutes of the assault on an audio recorder on her phone. Warren Evans, 35, was jailed for two years for slashing a man in the arm during a violent confrontation. Joseph Barker, 21, of Edgerton, Tanhouse, Skelmersdale, was jailed for three years and four months for drug offences after returning to a house to find police already there. Craig Long, of Merlin Road, Birkenhead, was jailed for three years for stalking and harassing a woman for three years.
