Wigan's court round-up

A Wigan schoolboy was caught riding a motorbike that wasn’t his. The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at the borough’s youth court to admit taking the Lexmoto LXR without the owner’s consent, not having a licence or insurance to ride it and failing to give a blood sample to police. The offences also put him in breach of a youth offender panel referral order handed down for assaulting a Wigan police officer. He was given a youth rehabilitation order involving five days of reparation and attending meetings with a supervising officer. He was also ordered to pay £282 in compensation to the bike owner.

A man who denied being armed with a baseball bat has walked free from court after the case against him collapsed. Anthony Unsworth, 38, of Mesnes Road, Swinley, had appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead not guilty to having an offensive weapon on Victoria Street on April 23 last. The bench ordered that the case be sent to Bolton Crown Court for trial but when he finally made an appearance there the prosecution offered no evidence and the case was dismissed.

A 60-year-old Wigan woman has denied peddling cocaine. Maureen Thompson, of Boyswell House, Scholes, stood before a Bolton Crown Court judge accused of intending to supply the drug on February 12 2020. She is further accused of having criminal property, namely drugs. Pleading not guilty to both charges, she was told that her trial would take place at the same court on January 12 next year and she was bailed until then.

The trial of two men accused of a knife attack more than three years ago has been further adjourned. Aaron Robinson, 27, of Buchanan Road, Worsley Hall, and 34-year-old John McLaughlin, of Manchester Road, Ince, are both accused of causing Ryan Wootton grievous bodily harm during an altercation at a Wigan pub on July 15 2018. It was alleged that Mr Wootton suffered a 3cm knife wound in the incident and that he was also kicked and stamped upon while he lay on the ground. Robinson also denies GBH and threatening GBH with a blade. Due to a backlog of cases their trial was set for September 6 this but this has now been further delayed until October 1.

A man has denied twice attacking the same woman weeks apart. Carl Hayes, 20, of Willow Crescent, Westleigh, appeared before Wigan magistrates to deny assaulting Keeley Bailey on June 27 and then the more serious charge of causing her actual bodily harm on August 5. The case was adjourned until September 28 before which Hayes is remanded on bail conditional that he sleeps at his home address and keeps away from the complainant.

A woman who denied peddling hard drugs in Wigan has walked free. Leanne Jauncey, 36, of Oakleigh Park North, in the London borough of Barnet, had pleaded not guilty to possessing crack cocaine and medical heroin and a trial was to have taken place. But after no evidence was offered by the prosecution, the case was discontinued. Meanwhile co-accused Paul Green, 37, of Albert Mews, Liverpool, had already been jailed for three years and four months by a Bolton judge having admitted to the same charges that Ms Jauncey had denied.

A Wigan man who claimed carers’ allowance to which he wasn’t entitled has been given a three-year conditional discharge. Neville Cave, 59, of Pagefield Street, Springfield, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions that he had been earning over the prescribed limits between February 2017 and 2019 and that this would have affected his entitlement. He must also pay £106 to victim services and the court.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a man accused of breaching the requirements of a community order. Wigan justices heard that 23-year-old Steven Watson, of Worthington Street, Hindley, had failed to attend an unpaid work session at St Bartholomew’s, missed two home visits on May 21 and 28 and didn’t offer valid excuses for doing so. He has yet to enter a plea and when he failed to turn up for the court hearing, the bench issued a warrant.

A Department for Work and Pensions admin officer has been accused of benefit fraud and possessing the proceeds of crime running into many thousands of pounds. Hayley Powell, 43, of Holly Road, Golborne, faces seven counts of dishonestly abusing her position as a case manager to fleece a massive £14,296 between October 2018 and October 2019 and also to having criminal property amounting to £25,188. A co-accused, 45-year-old Jonathan Duffy, of Monica Terrace, Ashton, faces six counts of doing nothing to rectify the fact that he had wrongly been given credit totalling £2,500 and possessing criminal property amounting to a further £1,823. Their cases were adjourned to September 15 by Wigan magistrates. The Fraud Act charge against Powell says that she was expected to safeguard, not act against, the financial interests of the DWP.

A young man has admitted to stealing up to £7,000 worth of bike parts. Jay McCarthy, 24, of Golborne Old Road, Winwick, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to the theft from Winstanley Cycles in Wigan on February 2. He must carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work and pay £180 in costs and to victim services.

A motorist has been fined for driving without due care and attention. Rhys Quinn, 22, of Hardwick Road, Ashton, stood before Wigan justices to admit the single charge. On top of the penalty come costs and a victim services surcharge bringing his final bill to £303.

A curfew has been imposed by a man who sent a woman a grossly offensive text. Andrew Gilligan, 48, of Tavistock Road, Hindley Green, will be electronically tagged and unable to leave his home between the hours of 7pm and 7am until October 12 for the distressing communication sent to Nicola Dalgleish on July 16. Wigan magistrates also ordered him to pay £180 to the court and victim services.

A young motorist has admitted to being involved in a hit and run crash while driving dangerously. Declan Mercer, 21, of Heysham Road, Kitt Green, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to taking an Audi A4 without the owner’s consent, which he wasn’t licensed or insured to drive and then driving it dangerously before it crashed into another vehicle on Walthew House Lane. The hearing was then told he fled the scene. He will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on September 29 and is on unconditional bail until then.

A man has admitted breaching the terms of a suspended sentence for assault and criminal damage by failing to attend meetings with his supervising officer. But Wigan magistrates only extended the suspension by a month for 40-year-old Ryan McCormick of Billinge Road, Pemberton, and said it would not be in the interests of justice to activate the sentence because the defendant had been hospitalised up to the end of July.

A man has been accused of being armed in public with a knuckleduster and a taser. It is alleged that the second weapon was disguised as another object. Daniel Barnes, 44, of Botany Close, Aspull, has yet to enter pleas to the charges relating to an incident near his home on March 14 last year. Wigan justices sent the case to be heard by a Bolton Crown Court judge on October 6.

A Wigan education worker is one of two people accused of child sex offences in the Eccleston area of St Helens. Julie Morris, 44, from Hindley has been charged with aiding and abetting rape of a girl under 13 and incite sexual activity with a child under 13. Merseyside Police say Morris is employed in the education sector in Wigan and officer are working closely with Greater Manchester Police and Wigan Council to ensure that adequate safeguarding measures are in place. But they add that the offences for which she has been charged are not related to her employment in Wigan. David Morris, 52, from Eccleston has been charged with three counts of rape of a girl under 13 and causing and inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. They appeared at Liverpool Magistrates Court and have been remanded in custody to appear at the Crown Court at Liverpool on October 4.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here and viewing our offers.