Wigan court round-up

A young Wigan woman who supplied cannabis has been given a community sentence. Michaela Dean, 20, of Chequers Street in Wigan town centre had been charged with possessing cannabis with intent to supply. And on her first appearance before a Bolton judge she admitted to the crime. Returning for sentencing, she was given a two-year community order which includes completing 100 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation activities.

A man has been accused of making indecent pictures of children. Darren Clegg, 35, of Leigh Road, Wigan, is alleged to have created two “child porn” pictures falling into the severest category of seriousness (A), three deemed to be category B and one category C. Wigan magistrates sent the case to be heard by a Bolton Crown Court judge on March 10 and he was released on unconditional bail until then.

A Wigan man has denied cocaine dealing and committing two rapes. But it will only be in a year’s time that the allegations against Zak Mortimer will be put to the test. The 40-year-old of Portland Street, Pemberton, was making his first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge over the charges and entered three not guilty pleas. A date of February 21 2022 was set for the start of his trial.

A would-be thief has been ordered to pay B&M Bargains £800 to compensate it for the damage he caused breaking into its Wigan store. Roy Moss, 39, of Woodford Court, was also given an 18-week prison sentence for the attempted burglary on November 14 although the term was suspended for 18 months. Remarking on Moss’s “appalling record of offending,” the bench also ordered that he complete a 270-day community sentence treatment programme, which includes elements for drug users and 15 days of rehabilitation activities.

A Wigan woman who admitted burglary and car tampering has been given a suspended prison sentence. Rebecca Bushell, 36, of Linney Square, Scholes, had already appeared before a Bolton 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. She was given a nine-month custodial term but it was suspended for 12 months. Bushell was also put under a two-month curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am, must complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and undergo a nine-month alcohol treatment programme. A co-accused, 44-year-old Kerry Taylor, of Scot Lane, Aspull, has pleaded not guilty to both charges and has been 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 motorist who took cocaine before driving has been banned from the road for 30 months. Nicholas Evans, 37, of Ribble Drive, Norley, was tested by police after they stopped him near their HQ on Scot Lane. As well as the disqualification, he has £299 to pay in court costs, a fine and victim services surcharge.

A man has denied a series of motoring offences. Anthony Seddon, 57, of Collett Close, Scholes, appeared before borough magistrates to plead not guilty to carelessly driving a Ford Transit Pickup in Vauxhall Road on February 9 while disqualified, uninsured and without a licence. He was remanded on conditional bail until his trial on March 22.

A man has been accused of committing a serious assault and then trying to intimidate the victim into not testifying against him. Wigan magistrates heard that 37-year-old Gary Taylor had already been charged with causing Paul Checkland grievous bodily harm and smashing his phone valued at £5,000 on September 18 last year. Now it has been alleged that on January 9 he approached Mr Checkland in the street and filmed him with his phone in a bid to intimidate him as a witness. It is a charge he has denied although he does admit breaking bail conditions on February 10 by again contacting Mr Checkland. Taylor was released on conditional bail pending an appearance before a Bolton judge on March 10.

A man who was neither insured nor licensed has admitted driving off after crashing into a lamppost. But 25-year-old Michael Evans, of Irwell Place, Worsley Hall, denied that the collision - on Montrose Avenue on August 9 - had been caused by his careless driving and that he failed to contact the police about it. Wigan magistrates adjourned the case until a trial on the latter two matters on June 14.

A woman is awaiting sentence after admitting that she smuggled drugs, tobacco, a USB stick and sim cards into Hindley Prison. Tracey Hughes, 50, from Quarry Green Heights, Knowsley, entered guilty pleas when she made her first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge. Sentencing was adjourned to March 25.

A man has denied threatening another man with violence but has admitted possessing a tyre iron as a weapon on the same day. Wigan magistrates set a June 21 trial date for 41-year-old Michael Harrison of Ribble Road, Norley, after he pleaded not guilty to menacing Steven Banks on October 17. He will be sentenced for the tyre lever offence at the end of the trial.

A year-long road ban has been imposed on a Wigan motorist who drove while uninsured and under the influence of cannabis. Sean Fisher, 30, of Anthorn Road, Goose Green, was stopped by police while at the wheel of a Ford C Max on Warrington Road, Marus Bridge, on July 30 last year and subsequently failed a drug test, Wigan magistrates heard. A fine, victim services surcharge and court costs mean he also has £439 to pay.

A hairdresser who ploughed her car into several parked vehicles while more than four and a half times over the drink-drive limit has been jailed. Wigan magistrates, who blasted her for putting her and other lives at risk, also noted that this was the second time Emma Gunning had been arrested for the same offence. The hearing was told that on December 12 the 34-year-old of Bolton Road, Ashton, was at the wheel of a a Mini Cooper on Lily Lane, Bamfurlong, with her boyfriend as a passenger, looking for a missing pet, when she lost control and it smashed into a number of other cars. Thankfully no serious injuries were sustained. When police attended the scene of the accident, Gunning had got out of the vehicle in order to swap seats with her partner, but was unable to get in at the passenger door because it was pressed up against the Fiat. She therefore attempted in vain to squirm through the passenger window but only got halfway when an officer approached her, the court heard. It was soon concluded that the mother of one had been driving and when she was breathalysed, she gave a reading of a massive 162 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. The chairman of the bench told her, “Having consumed an inordinate amount of alcohol, for reasons best known to yourself and your friend, you then decided to drive your vehicle on the public road, an action which put the public and yourself at risk of injury or death. There was a road traffic collision which caused significant damage to other vehicles. You then attempted to dissemble with the police officer and initially lied in an attempt to avoid the consequences of your actions. You also have a previous conviction for an identical offence. You have entered a guilty plea and have no other convictions but the level of alcohol in your body is higher than the highest reading contained within the sentencing guidelines. It is clear that a sentence of imprisonment is more than justified in these circumstances and we do not believe that it is appropriate to suspend this sentence.” Gunning admitted to drink-driving and obstructing a police officer. She was given an eight-week term behind bars and banned from driving for five years. In order to be eligible to drive again, Gunning must take an extended test at the end of the disqualification. There is also a £128 victim services surcharge to pay.

A teenager found armed with a steak knife and then in possession of drugs the next day has been given a youth rehabilitation order. The Wigan 16-year-old, who cannot be identified appeared before the borough’s youth court to admit to possessing the bladed weapon in Bishopgate on February 15 and then having cocaine the day after. Part of his punishment includes a course called Behind the Blade aimed at deterring knife crime. He must also carry out 40 hours’ unpaid work and pay £106 in court costs and a victim services surcharge.

A Wigan man who admitted dealing cocaine and cannabis has been spared an immediate jail sentence. Darren Jones, 33, of Keats Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, had previously appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge to plead guilty to possessing the class A and B substances with intent to supply. Back in the dock for sentencing he was given a 12-month prison term but it was suspended for 18 months. He must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities. The judge fixed May 19 as the date for a proceeds of crime hearing at which it will be decided the extent of his ill-gotten gains and how much of them can be seized.

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 jailed. 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. He was jailed for a total of 1,424 days which is just under three years and 11 months behind bars. 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.

A young man convicted of two attempted burglaries and taking a car without the owner’s consent in Wigan has been given a community sentence. Ziyad Saleh, 23, of Morris Court, Hackney in London, had appeared in the dock at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court to deny breaking into the Betfred Tote buildings on Chapel Lane and an industrial unit on Bradford Street, both in Wigan, between May 15 and 18 last year and making off with a Nissan Qashqai on March 13. But he was convicted of all these in trials by the justices, including the vehicle crime in his absence when he failed to attend a hearing. However, Saleh had already pleaded guilty to driving that same Qashqai on City Road in Kitt Green, the same day as its disappearance without a licence or insurance. For the offences he was ordered to complete 90 days of rehabilitation activities, was banned from driving for nine months and has a £90 victim services surcharge to pay.

Two men have admitted involvement in the theft of a Wigan man’s motorbike. Aaron Hill, 28, of Castle Hill Road, Hindley, pleaded guilty to stealing Jamie Foster’s £3,500 Honda two-wheeler while Richard Hughes, 48, of Livingston Street, Ashton, admitted to handling the vehicle afterwards.

He had initially denied the charge. Hill, who had denied receiving stolen goods and had that charge dismissed, will be sentenced on March 18. Hughes was ordered to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and he must pay £200 compensation to his victim. There is a further £149 to stump up in court costs and victim services surcharge.

Trespassers found in a part-built new Wigan home have admitted an offence under the 1824 Vagrancy Act. Kevin Barr, 38, of Moore Street, Whelley, and 34-year-old Rebecca Winstanley, of Church Lane, Shevington, pleaded guilty to borough magistrates that they were in a house under construction in Harvey Street, Ince, on February 13 for the purpose of committing an unlawful act. They were given conditional discharges - 18 months for Barr and 12 for Winstanley, and each must pay £107 in court costs and a victim services surcharge.

Thank you for reading. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription. Thanks again.