Wigan's court round-up

A Wigan rapist whose lies were exposed by DNA evidence, has been jailed for six years.

James Fitzgerald reappeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge to learn his fate after being convicted of two sex attacks on a 21-year-old woman last month.

The 37-year-old of Mayfair Drive, Marus Bridge, had denied charges of rape and sexual assault of the same victim on October 13, 2018.

After several days of evidence, the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict but after the judge said a majority would be allowed, he was convicted of both offences by 11 jurors to one.

The hearing was told that immediately after she was subjected to her ordeal the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told her boyfriend and the police were called.

Following his arrest forensic experts seized Fitzgerald’s clothing and examined his body, finding traces of his victim’s DNA in an intimate place.

Likewise, the court heard, traces of Fitzgerald’s DNA were also detected on the young woman’s clothing which backed up her account of what happened.

The defendant continued to maintain his innocence, but following conviction he was remanded in custody pending a sentencing hearing.

And now he has been given three years in prison for the sexual assault and six years for the rape, the sentences running concurrently.

Once out of jail Fitzgerald will have to sign onto the Sex Offenders’ Register for the rest of his life.

An indefinite restraining order will also prevent him from having any future contact with his victim.

A man who admitted threatening residents in a neighbour dispute while armed with a knife told a court he has little recollection of the incident.

Andrew Farrimond, 33, of Glenside, Appley Bridge, appeared before Wigan magistrates to received a suspended jail sentence for menacing people on Langfield, Lowton, on June 26 while armed with a blade.

The chair of the bench told him: “There were both adults and children present at this address and your presence so armed caused a great deal of trauma.

“We accept that this was uncharacteristic behaviour, but it is an extremely serious offence which falls squarely into the custodial bracket.

“You have no previous convictions and you also pleaded guilty at the first court hearing having previously denied it in interview.

“You say that you have a limited recollection of events and that is worrying.

“We accept that you did not make any threats with the knife, but you have no excuse for attending at your neighbours.

“You should have reported the disturbances to the police. Actions such as yours can and do lead to people being stabbed.

“Thankfully there is no suggestion that you made any move to do that, but this was a tremendously risky situation which could easily have escalated.”

For issuing the threats and possessing the knife he was given a total of four months in prison but the sentence was suspended for 12 months. Farrimond will also be electronically tagged and under curfew until the end of February 3.

A victim services surcharge and court costs mean that he also has £213 to pay.

A thief who went shopping with a debit card he had just stolen faces a community sentence and a big bill to pay.

David Dahl had denied stealing £60 in cash plus bank cards in a wallet from Ralph Gregory but after a trial at Wigan Magistrates’ Court, justices found him guilty of the theft and also turning up at Tesco later that day in January to make purchases with one of them.

The 48-year-old of School Street, Ince, did, however, admit assaulting PC Sean Robinson three days later.

He was ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and was hit with a bill of £1,000, £800 of which is in court costs. Another £50 was in compensation to PC Robinson. There was also a £60 fine and he was also told to pay £90 to victim services.

A man who attacked a woman and smashed a window has been given a 28-month conditional discharge.

Darren Evans, 31, of Duke Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield, stood before Wigan justices to admit assaulting Naomi Gardner by beating and putting a window through at her home on July 20.

He had initially denied the latter offence. He was ordered to pay £100 compensation to his victim, £300 towards court costs and a £22 victim services surcharge.

A man who was caught with a customised sawn-off shotgun in Wigan has been jailed for more than seven years. A court head that police had gone to investigate reports of out-of-control dangerous dogs at a farm on Withington Lane, Aspull, when they came face to face with Nicholas Hindle with a blue shopping bag in his hand.

When they asked him what was in the bag, he ran so they gave chase.

Catching Hindle and detaining him they found a modified, smooth-bore sawn-off shotgun repeater, a silver L Ancion-Marx revolver, eight shotgun cartridges and two 9mm silver rounds.

Hindle, 27, of Siemens Street, Horwich, had already pleaded guilty to possession of the adapted shotgun, the separate offence of doing so when he had already served a prison sentence of at least five years, possession of the revolver and possession of the ammunition.

He was given seven years and one month for the first charge, three years for the next, six years and four months for the revolver offence and two years for the ammunition crime, but all sentences are to run concurrent to each other.

A Wigan man has been charged with peddling hard drugs. Ryan Halliwell, 37, of Gas Street, Platt Bridge, appeared before Wigan magistrates accused of possessing crack cocaine and diamorphine (medical heroin) with intent to supply.

Because of the seriousness of the charges, the case was immediately sent to Bolton Crown Court before he has pleaded. He was released on unconditional bail until that hearing before a judge on December 23.

A 50-year-old motorist who drove under the influence of cocaine has been banned from the roads for 12 months.

Christopher Bryan, from Drummond Square, Worsley Hall, admitted to borough magistrates that he had taken the drug before police stopped his Audi A3 on nearby Larch Avenue on June 6. He must also pay a £450 fine and another £130 in court costs and a victim services surcharge.

A March trial date has been set for a Wigan man who denies a vicious assault at a Wigan pub.

Steven Gaskell, 45, of Chapel Street, Pemberton, appeared before a Bolton Crown Court to plead guilty to knife possession but denied a charge of intending to cause Gary Sweeney grievous bodily harm during an incident at The Old Pear Tree on Frog Lane on September 18.

It is alleged that the complainant was repeatedly punched and stabbed. Gaskell was remanded in custody until his trial begins on March 8.

A young motorist has admitted to driving a van dangerously around the streets of Wigan.

Nathan Fitton, 26, of Lowther Drive, Leigh, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to tearing round Partington Street, Scot Lane, Martland Mill Lane and Houghton Avenue at break-neck speed in a Vauxhall Astra van on April 14 and doing so when uninsured and without a licence.

However another charge of driving off after colliding with street furniture on a traffic island on Martland Mill Lane was withdrawn by the prosecution.

Sentencing was adjourned until January 12 for the preparation of reports.

Fitton was released on unconditional bail until then but an interim driving disqualification has been imposed on him.

A drug addict who stole a woman’s £900 phone has been given a community order. Paul Hilton, 39, of no fixed address, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to taking Nicole Culley’s Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus on August 26, having previously denied the charge.

The bench put him on a drug rehabilitation programme, told him to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and he must pay his victim £400 in compensation while forking out another £100 for a fine.

A teenager who stole beer, ice cream and a car has been given a conditional discharge.

The 17-year-old from Wigan, who cannot be named, appeared at Wigan Youth Court to admit taking the alcohol and ice cream from Charity Farm at Wrightington on December 18 last year and taking a Vauxhall Vivaro without the owner’s consent in Chorley on February 21 this year.

Compensation, court costs and a victim services surcharge mean he has to pay £184.30 as well as abide by the 12-month discharge.

A man has denied driving a car while banned and uninsured, and failing to stop for police.

Liam Morrall, 28, of Bridge Street, Hindley, appeared before Wigan and Leigh magistrates to plead not guilty to a charge of being at the wheel of a Ford Focus on Thirlmere Avenue, Ince, on March 1 while disqualified from driving.

On the same occasion he said he was not driving while uninsured nor did he not stop when requested by a police patrol.

A trial will be held at the court on February 22.

A woman who was caught driving when she had drunk almost four times the legal limit of alcohol has been banned from the road for three years.

Lesley-Ann White, 39, of Hedgerow Gardens, Standish, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit to a reading of 135 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of her breath when she was stopped in a Mazda on Wigan Lane by police on November 5.

She was ordered to carry out 225 days of unpaid work and there is £180 to pay in costs and a victim services surcharge.

She can reduce her disqualification to 36 weeks if she completes a state-sanctioned course for drink-drivers.

A two-year road ban has been imposed on a motorist who admitted driving while uninsured and under the influence of cocaine.

Paul Taylor, 38, of Park Lane, Abram, was also told by Wigan magistrates to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and pay a fine, victim services surcharge and court costs totalling £300 after police stopped his Vauxhall Corsa on Warrington Road on June 1 and found him to be drug-driving.

A suspected drink-driver has been hit with a 20-month road ban and £745 court bill after failing to provide a breath test.

Elisha Speakman, 29, of Knowles Place, Scholes, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit the October 10 breach of the Road Traffic Act. Of the money she has to pay, £600 of it is a fine, the rest is court costs and a victim services surcharge.

The ban can be shorted to 20 weeks if she attends a state-sanctioned course for drink-drivers.

A man who repeatedly made nuisance phone calls has been fined.

Sean Breheny, 52, of Bankwood, Shevington, appeared before Wigan justices to admit persistently using the public electronic communications network in order to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.

He was put on an alcohol dependency programme and once court costs and a victim services surcharge had been added to his £150 penalty he was told he has £330 to pay.

A Wigan man has been accused of hoarding hundreds of indecent images of children.

Michael Berry, 36, of Ash Grove, Orrell, is charged with possessing 120 pictures which fall into the most disgusting category of seriousness A, plus 115 category B images and 939 of category C seriousness.

There is a further charge of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

Because of the seriousness of the case, magistrates immediately sent it to Bolton Crown Court on unconditional bail and he is due to make his first appearance before a judge on December 23.

A young Wigan man has been accused of breaching coronavirus laws by sitting in a car with people from two other households at the height of the first lockdown.

Jamie Hogg, 23, of Knaresborough Road, Hindley, appeared before Wigan magistrates charged with both being in a car with two other males on April 28 and also of being so when it wasn’t for an essential trip contrary to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020.

He has yet to plead. The case was adjourned until December 30.

A woman who twice defined a court closure order on a Wigan home has been hit with a £359 bill.

Kerry Taylor, 44, of Scot Lane, Aspull, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit flouting the exclusion of non-residents from 26 Linney Square in Scholes on both October 22 and November 9.

The address had had a closure order imposed on it on the first of those two dates after the authorities received complaints about it being a focal point for antisocial behaviour. Taylor was fined £120 for each of the infringements and also has to pay a £34 victim services surcharge and £85 in court costs.

A young Wigan man has been spared immediate incarceration after admitting to an attack and possessing cocaine.

McCauley Hatton, 20, of Closebrook Road, Worsley Hall, had already pleaded guilty to causing Declan Rix actual bodily harm and having the class A drug, both on March 15, when he appeared before Wigan magistrates.

At his sentencing hearing at Bolton Crown Court, he was given a 10-month term in a young offenders’ institution but it was suspended for 18 months.

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