Wigan court round-up

A young Wigan woman has been accused of supplying class B drugs. Michaela Dean, 20, of Chequers Street, is charged with possessing a quantity of cannabis with intent to supply.

Borough magistrates sent the case to be heard at Bolton Crown Court and released her on unconditional bail until her first appearance before a judge on February 3. Dean has yet to enter a plea.

A 27-year-old motorist has admitted to driving under the influence of both cocaine and cannabis. Wigan magistrates heard that on July 5 Joshua Darbyshire, of Montrose Avenue, Worsley Hall, was stopped in a Fiat Punto on nearby Ridyard Street by police and tested for drugs. Readings later showed illegal quantities of both banned substances in his system. He will be sentenced at the same court on April 12.

A Wigan man has admitted he dealt cocaine and cannabis. Darren Jones, 33, of Keats Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge to plead guilty to possessing the class A and B substances with intent to supply. He was bailed until sentencing on January 13.

A woman has admitted smuggling phones and drugs into Wigan’s jail. Wendy Roberts, 47, of Tegid, Wrexham, had been charged with bringing, throwing or otherwise conveying cocaine, cannabis and two mobiles to Hindley Prison on April 30. Wigan magistrates had sent the case to be heard by a Bolton judge who gave her a 20-month prison sentence but suspended it for two years.

The drugs and phones were forfeited.

A man who admitted to going armed with a lock knife in public has been spared an immediate jail sentence. Clive Bromley, 46, of Toogood Lane, Wrightington, had already appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to having the weapon in Wigan’s parish church gardens on November 7. On returning to the court, he was given a 26-week prison term but it was suspended for two years. Bromley must also complete 21 days of rehabilitation activities and observe a night-time curfew for a fixed period. The weapon was also confiscated.

A Wigan crook is back behind bars after being caught shoplifting just days after his prison release. Christopher Whittle, 35, of Housley Close, Worsley Mesnes, is now embarking on another 12-week spell in prison after admitting he stole three cordless multi-tools worth £210 from B&Q and attempting to snatch items from Boots at nearby Robin Park on January 7. The hearing was told that he was barred from Robin Park and all three offences put him in breach of a criminal behaviour order. Whittle must also pay £128 to victim services.

A banned Wigan motorist who drove dangerously under the influence of cocaine will be sentenced by a judge. Simon Jones, 33, of Cinamon Avenue, Hindley, appeared before Wigan and Leigh magistrates to admit to having taken the class A drug before driving a Seat Leon along Long Lane, Hindley, on July 8 when he was disqualified from the road. The bench released him on conditional bail pending sentencing at Bolton Crown Court on February 5.

A man who molested a woman has been sent to prison. Dowie Hughes, 39, of Primrose Place, Ashton-in-Makerfield, had denied sexually assaulting his victim on the night of October 20 but he was found guilty after a trial at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court. The bench said the offence was aggravated by the fact that Hughes was on licence from prison at the time and that the woman was working at the time. He was given a six-month prison sentence, ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for seven years and pay £128 towards victim services.

Two people have been remanded in custody until they are tried for robbery. Jade Belshaw, 31, of Warrington Lane, Scholes, and Dean Braham, 35, of Woodhouse Lane, Beech Hill, appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge to plead not guilty to mugging Anthony Farrell for cash and keys worth £110 on November 28. A trial date of August 2 was set, before which the pair will remain behind bars.

One Wigan woman has admitted burglary and car tampering and another has denied the same charges. Rebecca Bushell, 36, of Linney Square, Scholes, appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge to plead guilty to stealing a vacuum cleaner and large vanity case worth £800 from a home in Lincoln Drive, Aspull, and tampering with a Vauxhall Corsa with the intention of stealing it or its contents. Both offences took place on December 12 and she was released on bail pending her sentencing on February 10. But her co-accused, 44-year-old Kerry Taylor, of Scot Lane, Aspull, pleaded not guilty to both charges and was bailed until her trial which is scheduled for January 10 2022, the long delay being due to the court case backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions.

A man has denied threatening Wigan prison officers and menacing someone in order to get special privileges as an inmate.

Sean Jones, 24, of no fixed address, further denied illegally possessing a mobile phone while an inmate in Hindley Jail. A Bolton Crown court judge heard that on February 14 Jones allegedly threatened that a property belonging to Danielle Charnley would be damaged intending that they would fear that the threat would be carried out. It is also alleged that with a view to gain for himself or another, with intent to cause loss to another, he made an unwarranted demand of special treatment as a prisoner from Gary Hyslop with menaces on November 11 2019. Denying all the charges against him, Jones was remanded in custody pending his trial at the same court on July 12.

Sentencing of a hammer-wielding Wigan shoplifter who threatened to smash a manager’s head in when he was confronted about stealing a bottle of champagne has been adjourned. Craig Makin had stuffed the bottle down his trousers at M&S Food in Leigh’s Parsonage Retail Park, when staff approached and tried to get him to hand it back. Bolton Crown Court was told that the 40-year-old, of no fixed address, then produced a hammer, raised it and threatened the manager with it. And Makin pleaded guilty to the armed robbery along with no fewer than five burglaries - four of which were detected because he bled at the crime scenes and left his DNA. At the fifth he was recognised on CCTV. The first three raids all happened in Hindley between March 18 and 20. At Charlie’s Coffee Factory he took packs of bacon, coffee beans and chocolate powder. At My Dentist dental surgery he escaped with £350 from the safe. And at the AK Hair Lounge he stole a tin and its contents. During that spree he left blood smeared on a door at the salon, on bottles at the dental surgery and on a fridge at the coffee bar. He carried out another burglary at the Iceland store in Atherton on July 13, stealing bottles of alcohol and, amazingly, managed to leave blood traces behind again, this time on an alcohol cabinet. On each occasion the traces led to a full DNA profile of Makin. He didn’t leave blood smears in a home in Burlington Street, Hindley, which he broke into on May 5, but as he got away with a wallet, cards and cash, he was caught on a neighbouring house’s CCTV camera and was identified by police. It was expected that he would be sentenced this month but Bolton Crown Court judge told him that he would now be dealt with on February 12.

The sentencing by a judge of a teenager who broke into a Wigan primary school has been delayed. Anthony Barrington, 18, of Forest Avenue, Beech Hill, had already appeared before Wigan justices to admit that he trespassed at Sacred Heart RC Primary in Springfield on December 13 with intent to steal and also that he breached a community order attached to a previous suspended sentence for having a lock knife in Torquay by not being in a prescribed place while under curfew. Sent to Bolton Crown Court to learn his fate, Barrington was told by a judge that he would now be sentenced at a date yet to be fixed.

A Wigan borough drug dealer has been jailed for five years. Martin McGowan had admitted to possessing both cocaine and heroin with intent to supply when he appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge. The 32-year-old of Warrington Road, Leigh, was also convicted of theft along with Geoffrey Ashcroft, 42, of Briar Grove, Beech Hill. They had been accused of stealing £2,000 worth of electrical items from an address in Siddow Common, Leigh. Ashcroft was given 12 weeks in prison for the theft while McGowan received 48 months for the drug offences, one month for the theft and 11 months for breaching a suspended sentence.

A motorist who ignored a driving ban is to be put under an electronic curfew. Scott Barrington, 32, of Vine Street, Whelley, appeared before Wigan justices to admit being at the wheel of a Vauxhall Insignia on Wallgate on November 18 while disqualified from the road and thus also not licensed to do so.

He received another 18-month ban and will be subject to 12 weeks of electronic monitoring to ensure that he stays at home between 7pm and 5am during that period. There was also £180 to pay to the court and victim services.

A teen who denied possessing indecent images of children has been given a community order after changing his plea to guilty. Liam Monk, 19, of Chequer Street, Wigan, had previously appeared before borough justices to be charged with having three “child porn” pictures which fall into the lowest category (C) of seriousness. He had been initially due to be tried in April last year, but because of the Covid-19 outbreak, the case was repeatedly delayed. But now he has admitted the charge after all and been made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order with a long list of stipulations regarding computer use and child contact. Monk must also complete 240 hours of unpaid work, take part in 25 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £190 to cover court costs and victim services.

A man who denies witness intimidation will be tried at the end of the year. Joseph Melling, 24, of School Avenue, Whelley, stood before a Bolton Crown Court judge, having previously plead not guilty before Wigan magistrates to making threatening comments to Carl Fairhurst knowing he was to testify in legal proceedings. The case was adjourned until December 14 during which time Melling is on bail.

A man who attacked a woman, smashed her phone and wrecked a door at her house has been put on a Building Better Relationships programme. Matthew Davies of Swinley Road, Swinley, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit assaulting Natalie Morton by beating, causing £300 damage to the mobile and also smashing the internal door.

As well as attending the programme, Davies must complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and 180 hours of unpaid work, while paying compensation to his victim along with court costs and a victim services surcharge totalling £330.

A motorist who was caught at the wheel when almost three times the drink-drive limit has been banned from the road for 26 months.

Steven Howarth, 48, of Ladies Lane, Hindley, pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared before Wigan magistrates.

The bench heard that when police force him to pull over his Audi F3 Quattro on Bolton Road, Aspull, on December 11, he gave a breathalyser reading of 98 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. Howarth can reduce his ban to 26 weeks if he takes a government-sanctioned course for drink-drivers, but he must also complete 10 days of rehabilitation activites and 100 hours of unpaid work. There is also a £180 bill to pay towards victim services and court costs.

A man has denied molesting a Wigan schoolgirl. Lairbi Hajoui, 58, of Dickens Place, Worsley Mesnes, appeared before borough magistrates to enter a not guilty plea to a single charge of sexually touching the 15-year-old without her consent. He was released on bail pending a first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge on February 3. In the meantime he is forbidden to contact the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, and two other named females nor can he enter two roads in Wigan as stipulated by the court.

A motorist obstructed a police officer who stopped him for drug-driving at Wigan’s retail park, a court heard. Andrew Roberts, 38, of Bell Lane, Kitt Green, appeared before borough magistrates to admit having smoked cannabis before getting behind the wheel of a Renault Kangoo at Robin Park on June 16. He also pleaded guilty to having no car insurance nor a valid licence on that occasion and also to obstructing a PC Woods in the course of his duties while also issuing threats or abuse. Roberts admitted a further charge of threatening a PC Kelsall on September 11. He was banned from driving for a year. The bench ordered him to complete 100 days of unpaid work and attend 23 days of rehabilitation activities. Fines, court costs and a victim services surcharge mean he also has a £555 hole in his pocket.

A man has denied a racially aggravated attack on a borough flat. Andrew Charlson, 55, of Bickershaw Lane, Bickershaw, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead not guilty to two charges of causing damage to the ceiling of a home belonging to Serco Homes, one claiming there was a racist element to the offence and an alternative one suggesting there was not.

He will be tried at the same court on April 20 and is in the meantime bailed on condition that he does not approach Adebukola Adeleye.

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