Wigan's court round-up

A young Wigan drug peddler caught with hundreds of pounds of illegal substances in his clothing is beginning a jail sentence. Bolton Crown Court heard that on Friday December 13 last year police spotted a white van and then saw it again later which roused their suspicions and a patrol went to investigate. On Dicconson Terrace, Swinley, they came across 21-year-old Mahyar Ghadri, whose clothing matched the description of a man said to have been making off from the van earlier. He was searched and a quantity of sterling bank notes in his coat pocket were found then four coloured tubs were retrieved from other pockets containing wraps of drugs. Laboratory tests subsequently run on the substances showed them to be cocaine, diamorphine (“medical heroin”) and cannabis together with an approximate street value £1,500. The cash, deemed to be criminal proceeds, amounted to around £1,700. On his first appearance before a Bolton judge, Ghadri, of Prestt Grove, Worsley Menses, pleaded guilty to possessing the cocaine and heroin with intent to supply, cannabis possession and possession of criminal property. He was sentenced to total of two years and nine months in custody. The judge also set a date of March 31 for a proceeds of crime hearing at which it will be calculated how much money Ghadri made from his criminal practices and how much of his ill-gotten gains can be recovered.

An 18-month driving disqualification has been imposed on a Wigan woman who was double the drink-drive limit. Lisa Barrett, 36, of Crawford Avenue, Aspull, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to having 73 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath when police stopped her in her Ford Focus on Caroline Street, Wigan, on November 3. She was fine £276 and must pay £34 to victim services and another £85 in court costs.

A Wigan man has been fined for breaching Covid laws at the height of the first lockdown. Scott Baldwin, 25, of Acourt Street, Ashton, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to being at an address in Warrington Road in the early hours of May 6 in contravention of the 2020 Health Protection (coronavairus restrictions) Regulations. He was hit with a £60 fine and must also pay £34 to victim services and another £85 in court costs.

A man who breached a court closure order by visiting a neighbour has been fined. Robert Moss, 35, appeared before Wigan justices to admit going to 26 Linney Square in Scholes on November 25 and so breaching an order prohibiting entry to non-residents of the address imposed by magistrates a month earlier. A fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge totted up to £199.

A man has denied having the incapacitent spray Pava. Liam Connell, 40, of Holly Road, Aspull, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead not guilty to possessing the noxious liquid with Government permission. He is also accused of having on the same day - February 23 - cocaine with intent to supply and £1,840 in cash which are deemed criminal proceeds. He has denied those charges too and has now been sent by the bench to appear before a Bolton judge on December 23. He was released on unconditional bail.

A judge will sentence a man who was found with two irritant sprays and a knuckleduster. Phillip Derricott, 49, of Rowan Avenue, Beech Hill, stood before Wigan magistrates to admit possessing the two noxious substance containers, the weapon and a quantity of cocaine on June 30 2019. He was remanded on conditional bail until he learns his fate at Bolton Crown Court on December 23.

A teenager who stopped a train when roaming on the railway line has been given a conditional discharge. Martin Corless, 18, of Inward Drive, Shevington, appeared before Wigan and Leigh magistrates to plead guilty to trespassing on the tracks at Wigan North Western station on November 25 and in doing so obstructing a locomotive. As well as the 12-month discharge he must pay £122 to the court and victim services.

A man caught drink-driving and motoring while uninsured has been banned from the road for three and a half years. David O’Gram, 62, of Wigan Road, Standish, was stopped by police while at the wheel of a Toyota Auris near his home on July 11, Wigan magistrates heard. He gave a reading of 70 microgrammes of breath in 100ml of breath which is exactly double the drink-drive limit. O’Gram pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and driving without insurance cover. As well as the lengthy disqualification from the road, he must also complete eight days of a rehabilitation activities and pay £430 comprising a fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge.

A Wigan man has admitted to sexually abusing girls as young as four and having a vast collection of child porn. Ian Story, 54, faced no fewer than 17 charges when he appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge and immediately pleaded guilty to them all. They included the making of 24,165 indecent images of children, 904 of which fall into highest category of seriousness (A). Of the remainder 1,466 were deemed to be category B and 21,795 category C. Story was also charged with distributing dozens of these images - 27 of them category A, 20 B and 44 C. And the charge sheet also included the sexual touching of a named minor and the making of indecent images with this girl (one category A, three category C) between 2010 and 2012. There were further accusations involving two counts of sexually touching a girl of four between 2019 and 2020, and another two of sexually touching a girl aged between eight and 10 between 2018 and 2020. Already in custody at HMP Forest Bank, Story was further remanded until he is sentenced on January 15.

A Wigan man who admitted to committing a string of offences involving child abuse and animal porn has been spared a jail sentence. Sean Sumner, from Ince, appeared at Bolton Crown Court having pleaded guilty to owning a vast catalogue of around 3,500 sickening images, some 1,400 of them of the most serious type. The hearing was told that the 30-year-old of Battersby Street made hundreds of child abuse images in the most severe category A, possessing a prohibited image of a child and a separate charge of possessing two images of “grossly offensive” acts of intercourse with animals, and trying to entice a boy of 12 into sexual activity. At a previous hearing Judge Graeme Smith that due to the seriousness of the offences, all sentencing options remained open. But Sumner’s defence team had requested an up-to-date psychological assessment and so sentencing was delayed. Now that has been prepared, Sumner has received a three-year community order which includes 35 days of rehabilitation activities. He has also been hit with a five-year sexual harm prevention order and must sign onto the Sex Offenders’ Register for the same period of time.

A teenager has been fined for flouting a closure order on a Wigan home. Ella Wilson, 18, of Concorde Avenue, Hawkley Hall, appeared before borough magistrates to admit breaching an order imposed by the court preventing visitors from entering 16 Montrose Avenue, Worsley Hall, on November 27. She was fined £20 and ordered to pay another £34 towards victim services. An order was imposed on the Montrose Avenue address on September 18 because it had become the focal point of anti-social behaviour.

An uninsured motorist caught at the wheel while under the influence of cocaine has been banned from the road for a year. Toni Molyneux, 29, of Winstanley Road, Bamfurlong, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to having taken the drug and not having the proper insurance cover when driving a Peugeot 206 on Davies Street, Platt Bridge, on January 18. A £237 bill included a fine, court costs and victim services surcharge.

A judge will sentence a Wigan man who broke into the garage of a home and stole golf clubs and power tools. Paul Seddon, 28, of Scot Lane, Aspull, appeared before borough magistrates to admit to the October 19 burglary in Newton Close, Swinley, in which £400 of property was stolen. The hearing was told that Seddon committed the crime while the subject of a suspended prison sentence for another offence. He was remanded in custody pending his sentencing hearing at Bolton Crown Court on December 21.

A motorist has been accused of badly driving a high performance car while under the influence of drugs. It is alleged that on May 12 31-year-old Craig Thomas, of Manse Gardens, Goose Green, drove a BMW 140i on Warrington Road without due care and attention, having taken both cocaine and cannabis. He has yet to plead and Wigan justices adjourned the case until December 16.

A teenager and a young man have denied two charges of physical abusing a child or failing to protect him from abuse. Jessica Jordan, 19, of Bickershaw Lane, Abram, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead not guilty to accusations of causing a named boy serious harm or not preventing him from coming to harm when she was in a position to do so. Jordan Smith, 20, of Heathlea Gardens, Hindley Green, faces the ssame two charges and a third of specifically causing the boy grievous bodily harm on April 18. He has yet to plead. The incidents are alleged to have happened between January and April 2019. The bench sent both defendants for trial at Bolton Crown Court where they will make her first appearance before a judge on December 23. They are on unconditional bail until then.

A judge will hear the case of a Wigan man accused of possessing both cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply them. Darren Jones, 33, of Keats Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, has yet to plead to the dealing charges alleged to have taken place on August 28 and Wigan magistrates sent the case to Bolton Crown Court where he will make his first appearance on December 23. He was released on unconditional bail until then.

A man who threatened police officers and spouted racist abuse has been jailed for 12 weeks. John Webster, 33, of Upper Dicconson Street, Swinley, admitted to the two offences at an address in Rivington Drive, Bickershaw, when he appeared before Wigan magistrates. He must also pay a £128 victim services surcharge.

A Wigan 20-year-old has denied having an offensive weapon in public. Callum Clayton, of Hollington Way, Winstanley, appeared before a Bolton judge accused of having a hunting knife on Frog Lane. He was bailed until his trial on November 30 2021. A conditional discharge has been issued to a man who made a threatening phone call. Isaac Watson, 37, of Bulteel Street, Pemberton, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to making a call to James Windle with the intention of causing distress or anxiety. The discharge will last 12 months and he must also pay £107 to victim services and the court in costs.

A conditional discharge has been issued to a man who made a threatening phone call. Isaac Watson, 37, of Bulteel Street, Pemberton, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to making a call to James Windle with the intention of causing distress or anxiety. The discharge will last 12 months and he must also pay £107 to victim services and the court in costs.

A Hindley Prison inmate has been given an extra 12 months inside after admitting to unlawfully possessing an iPhone and mobile there. Shane Appleton, 22, had already pleaded guilty in an appearance before Wigan magistrates to having the two communication devices (a Zanco mobile phone and Apple iPhone) at the jail on May 16 in contravention of the Prisons Act 1952. Now a 12-month custodial sentence has been imposed by a Bolton Crown Court judge.

A young Wigan woman has admitted to spouting racist abuse. Drew Pattinson, 23, of Woodcock Drive, Platt Bridge, was charged with issuing threatening or abusive words to Daniel Reid with the intention of causing harassment and distress, and that what she said was racially aggravated. She will be sentenced by Wigan magistrates on January 8.

A man has appeared before Wigan magistrates to deny groping a woman. Dowie Hughes, 39, of Wigan Road, Ashton, pleaded not guilty to a single charge of intentionally sexually touching a female over the age of 16 without her consent on October 11. He was released on conditional bail and will be electronically tagged until his next appearance at the court on January 8.

A woman has been banned from the road for 20 months after having drunk more than twice the legal liquor limit before driving. Jayne Lord, 36, of Preston Road, Standish, appeared before Wigan justices to admit having 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath when police tested her in her Mini close to home on October 19. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. The disqualification will be reduced to 20 weeks if she agrees to go on a course for drink-drivers. There is also £432 to pay in court costs, a victim services surcharge and fine.

A closure order has been placed on a home at a Wigan block of flats. Neighbours of Stefanie Holden had complained to the authorities about several incidents of anti-social behaviour centred on 16 Brook House, Scholes. Wigan magistrates accepted the application for the order which will remain in place for three months after which the situation will be reviewed.

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