Wigan's court round-up

A man who staged a roof-top protest which wasted thousands of pounds of 999 services’ resources has been jailed for two years. Grant Wisbey, 29, of Blenheim Road, Marsh Green, clambered onto the top of the Coops building on Dorning Street, Wigan, in the early hours of March 7 and began throwing items into the street 50ft below, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Fearing for his and other people’s safety, police, ambulance and fire service personnel were all in attendance for three hours and the street needed to be sealed off in the interests of public safety, a court was told. Eventually he gave himself up.

Wisbey had initially denied causing a public nuisance and also making contact with a named female on the same day in contravention of a sexual harm prevention order.

But he later changed his pleas at a hearing with Wigan magistrates who sent the case to be dealt with by a judge who has now sent him down for 24 months and ordered Wisbey to pay £156 to victim services.

Mathew Tuitt, 31, of Avenham Lane, Preston, admits using threatening behaviour to a woman at a Wigan gym and got 16 weeks suspended for 12 months. He must pay £100 compensation.

The case of a young man accused of a double assault has been further delayed.

Jordan Beach, 22, of Swan Lane, Hindley Green, is charged with causing Ian Hyland and Matthew Jones actual bodily harm while also threatening violence that same day on August 11 2019.

The case had been adjourned until this month but now it has been delayed until June 3 and he remains on unconditional bail until then.

Also accused of threatening violence and attacking Mr Hyland is 28-year-old Joshua Gannon, from Twiss Lane, Leigh, who was also bailed to re-appear on the same date.

A woman has admitted threatening two men with a knife.

Melanie Hart, 38, of Fieldway, Platt Bridge, stood before Wigan justices to plead guilty to menacing Ross Dewhurst and Theophilus Okaisakbo so as to make them fear that they might be victims of violence and also brandishing the weapon at them on March 30 in Leigh.

She was released on unconditional bail to be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on June 1.

A man admits being armed with a craft knife in Wigan police station’s custody suite but denies attacking two officers on the same day.

Mark Phoenix, 28, of Sullivan Way, Scholes, appeared before borough justices to plead not guilty to assaulting PCs West and Bretherton by beating on April 28 but pleaded guilty to having a Stanley knife.

A trial date of September 13 was set before which he will be obliged to live at his home address and an electronic tag has been fitted to ensure he abides by the curfew.

A Wigan man accused of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl has been locked up after admitting to two bail breaches.

Kyle Furlong, 29, of Rivington Drive, Bickershaw, had been bailed after police charged with the sexual touching of a 14-year-old on April 8, but Wigan magistrates heard that he then broke the terms of the bail by failing to spend the night at a designated address in Abram on April 16 and 28.

As a result the bench has now ordered that he be remanded in custody until he makes his first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge on May 10.

A teenager has admitted a catalogue of crimes including attempted robbery, riding a motorbike that wasn’t his around Pennington Country Park in Leigh, threatening two police officers, witness intimidation, assault and possessing drugs.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, appeared at Wigan Youth Court to riding the Lexmoto vehicle on February 22 - which had been taken without the owner’s consent - and that he was riding it without a licence or insurance.

Exactly a month later he threatened PCs Allison and Whitehouse, damaged a high risk suit top to the tune of £55 and was found in possession of cannabis.

He further admitted to chasing two people who were witnesses in criminal proceedings, assaulted one of them and another male, and trying to rob someone of their wallet on March 20. He was released on conditional bail - which includes a night curfew - until he is sentenced on May 20.

A man who denies involvement in a hit-and-run will have to wait almost a year before he can be tried for the offence.

Harry Dandy, 20, of Lily Lane, Bamfurlong, had already appeared before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to driving dangerously, fleeing the scene of an accident in Wyre Avenue, Platt Bridge on December 6 in which David Black was injured and a separate charge of assaulting Mr Black by beating.

Having now made his first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge, Dandy was bailed and told to return to the court for a trial on April 22, 2022.

A Wigan 60-year-old has denied committing a series of sex attacks - including one of rape.

Richard Moore, of Park Crescent, Wigan, appeared before a Chester judge to plead not guilty to a total of eight charges, including several against minors. A trial date of October 5 was set and Moore was released on bail.

A man who twice attacked his Wigan ex has been given a community punishment and has a hefty bill to pay. Channing Tornerup, 39, of Llys-eithin, Mold, had first stood before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to four assaults of Sharon Skully over three days and to smashing her £100 mobile.

Following a trial by Manchester and Salford magistrates he was cleared of assault, common assault and the criminal damage charge but was convicted on two counts of assault by beating.

Tornerup was ordered to complete 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 80 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £620 in court costs and another £95 to victim services.

A Wigan man who admitted breaking into two cars in Bolton and stealing from one of them has been given a community punishment. Edward Ord, 38, of Hardybutts, Scholes, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to snatching a sat nav and tyre inflator belonging to Lee Owen and tried to taken items from a Ford Mondeo belonging to Alan Abbott on the same day, February 16.

Returning for sentence, he was ordered to complete 25 days of rehabilitation activities, attend an alcohol dependency programme and observe a six-week, electronically-tagged curfew confining him to his home between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

He also has £180 to pay to the courts and victim services.

A woman has been fined £750 and had six points put on her licence after being caught driving while uninsured.

Lorna Bury, 43, of Gleneagles Close, Lowton, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to the single charge relating to an incident on Warrington Road, Golborne, last September 25 involving a Mercedes C220. Bury also has £75 to pay to victim services.

Sentencing of a man who admits to a series of driving offences has been delayed.

Anthony Seddon, 57, of Collett Close, Scholes, had originally pleaded not guilty to seven offences including driving first a Volkswagen Touareg and then, more than a year later, Ford Transit Pickup while disqualified from the road.

But at a later appearance before Wigan magistrates he changed his pleas, including those to driving both vehicles without insurance, having taken cocaine before driving the Touareg and driving the Pickup without due care and attention.

Seddon also admitted to not having a licence at the time of the Touareg offence in Astley on January 28, 2020.

An interim driving ban has now been extended but, after a delay in the case he remains on bail and will now learn his fate on June 1.

A man found with cocaine has a £239 bill to pay.

Jordan Needham, 29, of Morden Avenue, Ashton, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to possessing the class A illegal substance in Leigh on April 17.

The bill comprises a fine, court costs and a payment to victim services. The drug was also confiscated for destruction.

A Wigan man has admitted to dangerous driving while under the influence on his 40th birthday.

Adam Nicholls, of Avondale Street, Standish, stood before borough magistrates to plead guilty to driving a Peugeot 207 dangerously on Atherton Road, Hindley, on April 8 and that he did so with 74 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. That’s just over double the limit.

An interim disqualification was imposed by the bench until he is sentenced by a Bolton Crown Court judge on May 26.

A woman has admitted assaulting two people - one a police officer.

Shannon Dunn, 26, of Graysons Close, Swinley, stood before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to assaulting by beating both Barrie Houghton and a PC Alger on January 20 in Wigan. She was released on bail while pre-sentence reports are prepared and she was ordered to return to court on May 26 to discover her fate.

A shoplifter twice targeted Wigan’s town centre Boots store to steal make-up and electric razors, justices heard.

Kelvin Sharratt, 27, of Arcade Street, Wigan, is charged with snatching three razors together worth £350 and cosmetics totalling £173 on April 11 and 13.

He will be sentenced on May 27 and in the meantime the bench has imposed a no-go zone on Sharratt which comprises most of the town centre’s shopping streets.

Three men have been accused of stealing lead from the roof of Ashton library.

Callum Holgate, 19, of Falkirk Grove, Norley, Lee O’Shea, 33, of Petticoat Lane, Ince, and 22-year-old Sean Roberts, of Beverley Road, Marsh Green, stood before Wigan justices to deny stripping the metal from the public building for scrap on March 20, 2020.

The case was sent to Bolton Crown Court where the trio will next appear on May 26.

Holgate did admit possessing cannabis during the magistrates’ court hearing and they punished him with a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £106 in costs and a victim services surcharge.

Police arrested a woman found with a knife, knuckleduster, crack and medical heroin, a court heard.

Yvonne Allen, 37, of Rathen Avenue, Ince, appeared before Wigan justices to admit being in possession of the class A drugs and weapons on Ince Green Lane, Ince on April 9.

She will be sentenced at the same court on May 24.

A Wigan motorist caught at the wheel while under the influence of cocaine and cannabis has been banned from the road for 15 months.

Daniel Wilding, 27, of Petticoat Lane, Ince, appeared before Wigan justices to admit having taken the drugs before getting into a Vauxhall Mokko stopped on Woods Street, Wigan, on March 26 last year. He also pleaded guilty to driving a Honda Civic in Leigh without insurance and possessing cannabis on April 28 this year. As well as the road ban he was also fined and ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge totalling £299.

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