JULY 2011 - Sentences and
Convictions
GCN compiles
an on-going list of incidents involving guns. In this section
are sentences and convictions for court rulings made this month.
We know that our information
is incomplete. The number of incidents in our lists is between 10
and 15 percent of the total number of firearms offences recorded in Home
Office and Scottish Government figures, though we believe nearly all of
the most serious crimes are being included. Your help in collecting more
information would be greatly appreciated. If you have any information
about an incident please contact us by email
contact@gun-control-network.org.
Please see
our explanation of
why we
highlight incidents involving air weapons.
ENGLAND
BBC
News,
29 July 2011
Ola Apena,
22, has been jailed at least 32 years after being found guilty of
conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Whilst in prison in Oxfordshire, Apena ordered the murder of a
17-year-old in south London on the eve the teenager was due to
appear in court in a trial in which Apena was one of the defendants.
Another man connected to the incident, Rocky Thompson, was jailed for
ten years for gun crimes.
The Sentinel,
29 July 2011
Anthony
Jones has been convicted of possession of an imitation firearm with
intent to cause fear of violence and communicating false information
with intent. Jones was sentenced to a two-year community order and fined
£500
after he made a hoax call of a house fire in Stoke, as well as
claiming to have a bomb and a gun. The drunken man proceeded to wave an
air gun in the air as firefighters
arrived and was eventually detained by police officers.
Blackpool Gazette,
29 July 2011
Algo
Toomits has been jailed for ten years for armed robbery. Toomits was
part of a gang that broke into and stole items from jewellers in
Blackpool and Leeds in 2006 and 2007. In Leeds, Toomits
threatened staff with a handgun while his partners smashed display
cabinets. The men escaped with
£374k worth
of watches before Toomits fled to his native Estonia. He was tracked
because his DNA was left on a hammer found at the scene of the Blackpool
robbery.
Warrington Guardian,
28 July 2011
Michael
Simcock, 22, has been jailed for five years for two counts of robbery,
assault causing actual bodily harm and possession of an
imitation firearm. Simcock
threatened to shoot several people while drunk in Latchford,
Hertfordshire in May. He held up staff at a shop, assaulted two
individuals walking outside the store and pistol-whipped one in the
mouth, and even pointed the imitation gun at police officers. Upon
arresting Simcock police also recovered a knife.
Manchester Evening News,
28 July 2011
Andre
Chiverton is awaiting sentence after admitting possessing a firearm with
intent to endanger life. In May 2010 Chiverton shot two women aged 17
and 20 in Moss Side, Manchester. The drive-by shooting followed a
demonstration by Chiverton and others from Birmingham two days before,
in protest of the failure of law enforcement to prosecute anyone for the
April 2009 death of Julian Webster.
Plymouth Herald,
28 July 2011
Bobak
Shahandeh-Pour is awaiting sentence after admitting possession of a
taser gun as well as possession of
drugs in Devonport, Plymouth. He will be sentenced in August.
Croydon Guardian,
27 July 2011
Two
17-year-olds have been found guilty of robbery and possession of a
firearm. The pair were part of a larger group of young people who robbed
a shop in Upper Norwood, south London in February.
Birmingham Mail,
27 July 2011
Fabian
Edwards, 18, has been jailed five and a half years for attempted robbery
and possession of a firearm. His accomplice Daniel Broderick, 17, has
been jailed three and a half years for his involvement. The pair tried
to hold up a shop in Erdington, Birmingham in April with an
imitation gun, but after threatening
a customer and hitting a shopkeeper on the head they fled empty-handed.
Evening Telegraph,
26 July 2011
Edgar
Clark, 73, has been jailed for two and a half years after threatening to
shoot his partner and her son with a shotgun
at their home in Corby, Northamptonshire. The gun had
reportedly been altered by Clark to accommodate live ammunition (it was
created to be an imitation gun), and he threatened her for an hour and
20 minutes. The shooting threats were recorded by Clark's partner from a
device in her bag. Clark was convicted of possessing a firearm, making
threats to kill and false imprisonment.
Lancashire
Telegraph,
26 July 2011
Stephen
Devalda has been caught and convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery
after an incident in Colne, Lancashire in 2005. Devalda and other
accomplices threatened a security guard at a supermarket with a gun and
beat him with a machete, then stole
£25k.
Devalda then skipped bail and was arrested in March in Spain.
BBC
News,
25 July 2011
John
Pitcher, 21, has been jailed for five years after being convicted of
wounding and fraud. Pitcher opened fire at his father with the elder
man's shotgun in his home in
Plymouth in December 2010. He hit him in the shoulder, causing a
severe injury. The younger Pitcher, who had been due to join the Royal
Navy two months later, was cleared of attempted murder.
Liverpool Echo,
23 July 2011
Paul
Brennan has been jailed for seven years after robbing a store in
Liverpool in September 2010. Brennan assaulted a shop worker as he
brandished an air pistol and smashed
the security glass. The judge cited sustained psychological damage
suffered by the woman who was alone running the shop, as well as the
presence of terrified children, in the sentencing.
Plymouth Herald,
23 July 2011
Jerome
Manmohan has been jailed for 15 years for possession of a sawn-off
shotgun, dealing heroin and
blackmailing a drug addict. Associate Kelly Vigors was sentenced to two
and a half years in prison after a stun gun
and drugs were found at her house. Manmohan was brought to justice after
a terrified addict went to police in Plymouth last year when the
drug dealer lured him into a back alley and held a handgun to his
forehead. Police recovered the shotgun and a machete from his residence.
Bristol Evening Post,
23 July 2011
Thomas
Temblett and Joel Hartley have been jailed for six years each for
possessing a gun, silencer and ammunition in Bristol. The gun in
question was reportedly used in another crime. Temblett was also
convicted of cannabis production and Hartley with possession of cocaine.
Echo News, 22 July 2011
Simon
Craven has been fined after causing an armed police response in
Westcliff, Essex by firing an air weapon in a neighbourhood.
Neighbours reportedly contacted police after at least one person thought
Craven was shooting a high-powered firearm from his house. He was
arrested there and convicted of firing an air pistol at missiles outside
his home. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine, and Craven was
ordered to pay a total of
£167.
Evening Standard,
22 July 2011
Adrian
Henry has been jailed for committing armed robbery in Kentish Town,
north London in 2009. Henry threatened staff in a business with a
handgun and a knife, then stole their belongings. The crime occurred
just days after Henry was released from prison following a 12-year term
served for leading the gang rape and beating of an Austrian tourist. He
had been 14 years old at the time of that incident and the leader of a
teenage gang in north London. Henry and Terry Heywood were arrested
after the Kentish Town incident and each was convicted of five charges
of robbery, as well as armed robbery and possession of a firearm. Both
were given an indeterminate sentence (Metro,
22 July 2011).
Yorkshire Evening Post,
22 July 2011
Oliver
Coleman has been jailed for six years after being convicted of grievous
bodily harm. Coleman beat a man to death in Leeds in 1989, but
escaped to Ireland while on bail. He was later located, but while
extradition proceedings were taking place Coleman shot and killed a
20-year-old man in Ireland. After being sentenced to 12 years for
manslaughter by an Irish court, he was released after seven, in August
2010, and then arrested by West Yorkshire police for the original crime.
Yet because of a former law Coleman couldn't be tried for murder since
his first victim died more than one year after the attack -- he was in a
coma for 16 months before dying. So Coleman was only convicted of bodily
harm and now begins his six-year sentence in Leeds, 21 years after
committing the crime.
Northampton Chronicle,
22 July 2011
Austin
Amusu, 20, and Daniel Acquaye, 21, were jailed for five years each after
dumping a revolver in the Northampton town centre. The men were
filmed on CCTV dropping off the bag in February 2010. Police recovered
the bag and found a handgun and ammunition.
Tewkesbury Admag,
21 July 2011
Stephen
Blake has been found guilty of harassment and possessing an illegal
weapon and he has fled from police. He had threatened to shoot a
neighbour and kept a sawn-off shotgun
at his property in Bidford, Warwickshire. After learning in court
that his DNA was found on the shotgun, Blake fled, and his trial went on
in his absence. He will face a minimum five-year sentence for the
firearm charge.
Yorkshire Post,
21 July 2011
Daniele
Spinola and Paul Wright have been jailed for 16 years each after police
seized drugs in Bradford. Wright was found guilty of possessing a
prohibited weapon, a stun gun that
was found in his home, and both men were convicted of conspiracy to
supply heroin and conspiracy to possess amphetamine with intent to
supply. Police recovered an enormous supply of drugs from a car the men
were driving and Spinola's restaurant in what is reportedly the
largest-ever single seizure of Class A drugs in West Yorkshire.
This is Hampshire,
21 July 2011
Daryl
Coakley has been found guilty of possession of an illegal
stun gun and possession of cannabis
in Southampton. Police searched his bedroom after finding
the drugs and found the hidden weapon, which was disguised as a mobile
phone. He was fined
£130.
Your Local Guardian,
21 July 2011
Cameron
Emanuel has been convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to
endanger life, as well as possession of a firearm and ammunition without
a certificate. Emanuel was arrested in Clapham, south London in
March after gunshots were fired in an incident in which no one was
injured. He will be sentenced in August.
Metro,
21 July 2011
Akbar
Bukhari has been convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and money
laundering as well as possession of a firearm and ammunition. Bukhari
led a drug smuggling operation in Birmingham that police
uncovered and six of his associates were jailed this week for between
five and 15 years. Bukhari has been jailed for six and a half years for
the firearms offences and will be sentenced next month for his drug
trafficking empire, which reportedly generated
£7m
before police action last year.
Braintree and Witham Times,
20 July 2011
Pedro Da
Silva was convicted of common assault in Braintree, Essex on
suspicion of assaulting his wife with an
imitation gun. The woman reportedly asked her brother to
contact police after believing her husband threatened her with a real
gun. He was arrested and ordered to stay at an alternate address and not
contact his wife before he is sentenced on 8 August.
The Star,
20 July 2011
Steven
Brammer has been jailed for 13 and a half years after his role in an
armed robbery in Sheffield six years ago. Brammer was part of a
masked gang that tied up and threatened 27 workers with knives and
machetes, then fled from police. He had previously been convicted of
affray in 2004, sentenced to eight years in jail for possessing heroin
in 1995 and 10 years for robbing a post office with an
imitation firearm in 1986.
Staffordshire Newsletter,
20 July 2011
David
Newton has been jailed for five years for blackmail, conspiracy to
supply cannabis and possessing a prohibited firearm. Newton and Dean
Tunnicliff, jailed 30 months for blackmail and conspiracy to supply
cannabis, had threatened to shoot a fellow conspirator after their
supply was stolen from a building in Staffordshire. Police
recovered an illegal, high-powered air rifle
from Newton's home.
Lancashire Evening Press,
19 July 2011
David
Nestoruk has been jailed for one year and 10 months after threatening
undercover police officers with a BB gun
in Penwortham, Lancashire. Nestoruk had reportedly thought the
three men were drug pushers and threatened to 'blast them'. Police said
the imitation gun was believed at the time to be real by the undercover
officers. Despite Nestoruk's arrest the gun has not been recovered.
Harrow Times,
19 July 2011
Rando Tamm
has been jailed for six and a half months for possession of offensive
weapons, fraud and cultivating cannabis in Wembley, north London.
Police found that Tamm had used false documents to secure tenancy of his
house, where he had grown the drug. Upon searching his home police
recovered a taser gun, as well as
pepper spray and tear gas.
Malvern Gazette,
19 July 2011
Dale
Clark, 18, has been jailed for ten months for possession of a firearm
with intent to cause fear of violence in Malvern, Worcestershire.
He reportedly threatened a man with an air
rifle after losing his temper following a row.
Henley Standard,
18 July 2011
Palvinder
Bains has been jailed for three years after taking staff hostage with a
knife and an imitation pistol at a bank in Henley, Oxfordshire.
Bains was convicted of robbery and using an imitation firearm to cause
fear of violence.
Plymouth Herald,
16 July 2011
Ashley
Leech, 20, and Jack Smith, 18, have been jailed for seven years and
three years, respectively, for kidnapping a man in Colchester and
holding him prisoner for 20 hours while stealing from his bank accounts.
Armed with an imitation gun and an
axe, they kept the victim bound and gagged with the gun pointed at him
for a full day this past January. Leech, a cocaine addict, had needed
money to pay off drug debts.
Liverpool Echo,
16 July 2011
Gerard
Bailey of Huyton, Liverpool has been jailed for eight and
a half years for possessing a sawn-off shotgun
and ammunition. Bailey, who already had a related five-year conviction
prior to this incident, also pled guilty to possessing cocaine.
Birmingham Mail,
16 July 2011
Robert
Dell has been jailed for seven years after threatening to murder a man
and his family in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. Dell, who
illegally possessed a 12-bore double-barrelled
shotgun, was convicted of blackmail and possessing a shotgun
without a firearms certificate. He had threatened the man after
accumulating a significant debt to his cocaine dealer.
Rochdale Online,
15 July 2011
Six men
aged 22 to 42 have been jailed after police recovered loaded guns from a
convoy of three cars in Manchester in November 2010. Amar Murtaza,
Atiq Arif and Peter Maguire were sentenced to 12 years each for
possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of
ammunition with intent to endanger life. Daryl Maguire, Steven Yates and
Perry Curtis each received five years for similar charges. The group
were traveling with a shotgun and an
air pistol capable of causing death,
as well as a machete.
Evening Standard,
15 July 2011
Michael
Fergus and younger cousin Taariq Fagan, 20, have been convicted of
kidnapping, false imprisonment, blackmail and robbery. The pair, who
will be sentenced next month, kidnapped and tortured a bus driver in
Forest Hill, south London last year. Yet while they targeted the man
for reasons related to a drug debt, they mistook the victim for someone
else and actually had the wrong man all along. Despite his pleas of
mistaken identity, the pair threatened him with a gun, beat him and
burned him with cigarettes whilst demanding a
£10k
ransom.
Bromsgrove Advertiser,
15 July 2011
Lee
Walters has been convicted of six charges of burglary after targeting
empty homes throughout Worcestershire last summer. His accomplice
Stephen McGoldrick was already convicted and the pair will be sentenced
together at a later date. The pair stole many items from the houses,
including taking three shotguns from
one home.
Daily Mirror,
15 July 2011
Mohammed
Alom has been jailed for two years after attacking his ex-wife with a
knife. High on drink and cannabis, Alom threatened to kill his wife in
front of her two-year-old child in Oldham, Manchester. Even after
police shot him with a taser gun, he
began slicing through the weapon's wires and police had to use more
physical force to bring him down. His ex-wife was apparently injured in
the abdomen, legs and fingers, and Alom was convicted of unlawful
wounding, having a knife, making a threat to kill and possessing
cannabis. In addition to the jail time he was ordered to stay away from
the woman for a minimum of five years.
Manchester Evening News,
14 July 2011
Hassan
Hussain, 21, has been jailed for four months for wasting police time. He
apparently shot himself in the foot in Bury but then claimed to
have been gunned down by masked individuals in a car. Officers
ultimately determined no one else had been involved and believe Hussain
may have actually shot himself.
Bournemouth Echo,
14 July 2011
Benjamin
Daly has been jailed for four years after robbing a post office in
Bournemouth in December 2010. Daly told two women that were working
that he had a gun, and took money before fleeing. He was arrested two
weeks later.
Click Lancashire,
13 July 2011
Daniel
Sanderson and Peter Howard have been jailed for six years each. The men
held up a bookmakers at gunpoint in Lancashire. Sanderson was
convicted of robbery and possessing a firearm, while Howard was
convicted of the robbery and another robbery at a different time.
News Shopper,
12 July 2011
Courtney
Findlay has been jailed for seven and a half years after being convicted
of possessing a firearm, possessing ammunition, possessing cocaine with
intent to supply and cultivating cannabis in Beckenham,
south London. He had been one of 16 people arrested during a targeted
operation by police between February and May.
Guardian, 12 July 2011
Dennis
Lukonge, 20, has been jailed for four years after being convicted of
robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear. Lukonge
held up bookmakers in Surrey in March with an unloaded weapon,
and he admitted more than 100 other offences as well.
Mirror, 11 July 2011
Jonathan
Ochola, 21, and Rashad Delawala, 21, were convicted of robbery in
Portsmouth. The pair robbed a bookmakers with an
imitation firearm. Police obtained a
diary belonging to Ochola which revealed the premeditated plan for the
June hold-up.
Coventry Telegraph, 11 July 2011
Paul
Greening has been jailed for four years after robbing an off-duty
soldier in Coventry. Greening had reportedly been drunk when he
threatened and robbed the soldier twice in a span of 20 minutes,
claiming to be armed. In the end Greening, who added two counts of
robbery to his ten prior convictions, left with a mobile phone and
£16
in
cash before later being arrested.
Birmingham Mail,
9 July 2011
Waheed
Munir has been jailed for five and a half years for possessing
ammunition, dangerous driving and driving without insurance. After he
was pulled over in Birmingham, Munir tried to hide a lethal
bullet he had 'up his backside' -- but it fell out during a strip search
at the police station.
BBC News,
9 July 2011
Alfred
Johns has been jailed for 17 months for fraud, possessing a shotgun and
handling stolen goods. Johns admitted stealing
£18k
from a woman in her 80s in Hereford who he had promised to help
with a civil dispute earlier this year.
Swindon Advertiser,
9 July 2011
Peter
Gallagher has admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of
violence in Swindon. He confronted youngsters with an
air weapon in May. A judge initially
suspended sentence due to further investigation into the incident.
Islington Gazette,
8 July 2011
Ricki
Williams, 21, has been jailed for two years and four months after being
convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear as well
as possession with intent to supply cannabis. Williams threatened to
shoot a 15-year-old girl in Finsbury, north London with a stun gun as she
shopped in the area in November 2010.
Evening Chronicle,
8 July 2011
Stephen
Robinson has been given a 12-month community order and must do 100 hours
of unpaid work after pleading guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon,
production of cannabis and possession of cocaine. Police recovered a
stun gun and drugs from a house in
the West End of Newcastle.
The Journal,
7 July 2011
Abie
Stewart has been convicted of aggravated burglary after robbing a home
in Northumberland on 5 March. Stewart and an alleged accomplice
assaulted the farmer who lived alone at the property with a
BB gun, threatening to pistol whip
him and fleeing with three shotguns
and other items including the victim's car. They crashed the vehicle,
however, and Stewart was arrested. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Uxbridge Gazette,
7 July 2011
Lee
Adamson has been convicted of several driving offences after hitting a
police car and attempting to run in Surrey. Police chased him
down and used a taser gun to subdue
and arrest Adamson. Two officers were injured in the crash. Adamson will
be sentenced on 29 July. The car he was driving was stolen from west
London last month
(BBC News, 4 July 2011).
Newbury Today,
7 July 2011
Four men
have been jailed after conducting a series of armed robberies in
Newbury and Thatcham, West Berkshire. In one incident, the
group conspired to lure a victim into a fake drug deal, then beat and
tortured him. Flavio Andrade, 20, and Paul Barlow, 21, each had a long
previous record and have been jailed for five years and four years,
respectively. Warren Holland, 18, received two years and eight months,
while Adam Scatchard was jailed for two years.
Evening Chronicle,
5 July 2011
Malcolm
Cruddas has been jailed for one year after being found guilty of
possessing a weapon designed to discharge a noxious gas or liquid in
Bensham, Tyne and Wear. The gun is capable of firing blank
cartridges or irritants such as tear gas. Police found the gas revolver
in his home but suspect his son, who they describe as their 'prime
suspect', of exploiting Cruddas.
The Voice,
4 July 2011
Keith
Donaldson-Jones has been jailed for eight years after carrying out three
armed robbies on bookmakers in east London. Donaldson-Jones used
an imitation firearm to execute the
robberies, while he was also convicted of another two counts of burglary
in which he used a bladed weapon.
Manchester Evening News,
4 July 2011
Peter
Murphy has been jailed for five years and nine months after being
convicted of possessing a handgun, a stun gun,
a silencer and ammunition. Police found the items after going to his
home when he broke the terms of his sex offender registration by going
abroad. Murphy was jailed for six years for rape in 1995.
Lancashire Telegraph,
1 July 2011
Levi
Dolman, 19, has been given a conditional discharge after he fired an air
pistol while under the influence of cannabis in Burnley. Dolman
was arrested after police received reports that three men were shooting
at pigeons, then found the trio with three air weapons and cannabis.
SCOTLAND
STV,
29 July 2011
Joseph
Russell has been jailed eight years after illegally possessing a
functional, loaded pistol and threatening to kill two former work
colleagues and their families in Aberdeenshire. Russell had prior
convictions for firearms offences as well as drug supply and dishonesty
with the law. Further drugs convictions indicate Russell has also waged
a long-standing battle with heroin addiction.
Daily Record,
23 July 2011
Lee
McNamara has been found guilty of murder after killing a man in East
Lothian in October last year. In a drunken row at a pub, McNamara
beat a man, then drove over him with his car, taking his life. McNamara,
who has prior convictions for carrying a firearm, assault and driving
offences, will return to court next month to receive his sentence.
Scotsman News, 22 July 2011
Guy
Whitelaw has been jailed for five years after breaking into an
Edinburgh home in March and stealing jewellery, cash and a revolver.
He had taken a safe that contained the gun and had been charged with
possession of a prohibited weapon despite burying the weapon upon
discovering it. The resident of the home, a 63-year-old woman, may face
a similar charge for having kept the gun in her home.
BBC News,
14 July 2011
Louise
Temperton, who held up a shop in Forfar, Angus but then
confessed to a neighbour minutes later, has been jailed for three years
and four months. After she robbed a store with an
imitation gun in March, Temperton quickly admitted the
crime and was swiftly arrested.
Scotsman News,
7 July 2011
Brian
McGeechan, 21, has been jailed for five years and four months after he
shot a man five times with an air gun
in Glasgow, permanently blinding the victim in one eye. The
incident took place outside a bar in February.
BBC News,
5 July 2011
Johnathon
Foster has been convicted of recklessly discharging an
air pistol. He fired it several
times as fans arrived for a football match at Tynecastle Stadium in
Edinburgh in August 2010. He will be sentenced next month.
WALES
South Wales Argus,
31 July 2011
Phillip
Williams has been jailed for four and a half years after participating
in an armed robbery in St. Julians in October 2010. Williams used
a special knock to let his neighbour know it was him, allowing three
masked men to invade the home and hold Williams' acquaintance at knife
and gun point.
Daily Post,
16 July 2011
Luke
Lamond, 21, has been jailed for five months in Llysfaen for
harassing his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child. Over a
period of time he broke into her home, told her he had a firearm,
pestered her with online and text messages, and switched off her
electricity. Lamond was arrested after threatening to jump off a bridge.
Flintshire Chronicle,
1 July 2011
Ben Jones,
19, was sentenced to three years in youth custody after holding up a
petrol station with an air gun in
Ewloe. Jones stole cash and battered the shop staff member on the
head before fleeing on 30 May. He then posted messages on Facebook
boasting of his crime as he fled from police.
