Wigan's week in court

A young man has denied burglary and threatening to burn a Wigan couple’s house down. Nathan Massey, 22, of Findlay Street, Leigh, stood before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to charges that he said he would torch Lyndsey and David Swann’s home and burgled an address in Sycamore Avenue, Beech Hill, on July 7 last year. He has also denied a further charge of being in possession of a machete in Shaftsbury Street, also in Beech Hill, three days later. He was remanded on conditional bail until a first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge on August 4.

A young woman has been given a community punishment for assaulting a man. Rebecca Buksh, 24, of Darley Avenue, Hindley, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit to causing James Jones actual bodily harm on September 11 last year. She was ordered to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £180 towards victim services and court costs.

A trial date has been set for a man who denies launching an attack. Robert Jackson, 26, of Falkirk Drive, Ince, appeared before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to the assault by beating of Ian Parkinson on February 28. The case was adjourned for trial on August 5 at the same court and Jackson was released on bail until then, conditional that he has no contact with the complainant.

A banned motorist who was found at the wheel when double the drink-drive limit has been given a suspended prison sentence. Stephen Gallagher, 36, of Linney Square, Scholes, admitted drink-driving, having no insurance and breaching a disqualification after police stopped a Ford Fiesta on Scholes Precinct on June 9. Back in court for sentencing, Gallagher was given a nine-week custodial term but it was suspended for 18 months. He must also complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £213 comprising court costs and a victim services surcharge.

A young man has been banned from driving for a year after admitting to being at the wheel when under the influence of cannabis. Layton Gee, 23, of Manor Road, Hindley, stood before Wigan justices to plead guilty to having taken the illegal drug before he was stopped by police at the wheel of a Chevrolet Matiz on Chapel Green Road last December 14. A fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge mean that as well as serving the ban, he also has £239 to pay.

A young woman has been given a two-year ban from the road after she tested positive for cocaine. Wigan magistrates heard that Tayla Johnson, 25, of Kennedy Road, Standish, was found under the influence of the class A drug when police stopped an Audi on November 23 in Wigan Road, Standish. As well as the disqualification, she also has a fine, victim services surcharge and court bill totalling £239 to pay.

A young man has denied riding a quad bike in the street while banned from driving and uninsured. Shane Liptrot, 22, of Bombay Road, Marsh Green, appeared before Wigan magistrates to deny the motoring offences alleged to have been committed in the street outside his home on April 22. The case was adjourned for a trial on September 30.

A drug-addicted shoplifter who assaulted a man in Wigan has been jailed for six months after justices said he had one of the worst criminal records they had ever come across. Borough magistrates heard that Jeff Day was in breach of both a conditional discharge and criminal behaviour order issued by Merseyside courts for theft, violence and resisting arrest when he attack Robert Wright and stole a fleece top and bottoms worth £68 from Sports Direct in Wigan on June 29. Jailing the 31-year-old from Viola Street, Bootle, the chairman of the bench said: “You have one of the worst records of offending that this bench has ever seen. It is littered with offences of dishonesty and breaches of court orders. This offence was committed within days of a community order being imposed for breaching a criminal behaviour order. You have also failed to contact your offender manager since sentence. You then lied to the court that the electronically monitored curfew tag had been fitted as part of your last sentence. On this occasion you were once again stealing to finance your drug addiction and then you threatened the shop manager with a knife that had a four and a half inch blade easily capable of maiming or killing someone. It is clear that you have no intention of changing your behaviour.”

A woman has admitted to a savage assault with a bottle and being found with a blade hidden in her handbag. Amanda Round, 53, of Derby House in Scholes, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to the unlawful wounding of Katherine Lyon on June 29 and possessing a large kitchen knife in Diggle Street the next day. She was released on conditional bail pending her sentence by a Bolton Crown Court judge on July 28.

Sentencing of a 32-year-old Wigan man found guilty of assault has been delayed. Steven Critchley, from Duke Street, Swinley, had denied causing David Oliver actual bodily harm on May 8 when he appeared before Wigan justices but the bench convicted him after a trial. He then appealed the verdict at Bolton Crown Court but the judge upheld it. Sentence has been delayed twice already but it is now scheduled for August 10.

A woman who repeatedly made a musical din for her neighbours last Christmas has been hit with fines and court charges of almost £1,570. Wigan magistrates heard that despite being served with a noise abatement notice for playing music at anti-socially loud levels, Sophie McCarthy continued to ramp the volume up at her home in Withington Lane, Aspull, twice on Christmas Eve, once on Boxing Day and again the day after. The £1,569.50 bill comprises four £220 fines plus court costs and a payment to victim services.

A man and his company have been hit with a hefty bill for failing to clear up an eyesore piece of Wigan land. Borough magistrates were told that Wigan Council served a notice on Mark Heyes and MRH Developments last August to clear a plot that they own at 2 Chorley Road, Standish. The order required the removal of materials including timber, bricks and pallets, stockpiles of loose sand and gravel and an orange portable cabin, then that the land would be tidied up, fenced off and kept in a neat state so as not to “cause injury to the amenity of the area.” But the notice went unheeded and both landowner Heyes, of Blythe Lane, Lathom, and Ormskirk-based MRH were proved guilty of the order breaches in their absence. Fines, a victim services surcharge and contribution to court costs mean that £,1400 has to be paid out.

A Wigan man has been fined for entering a house that was subject to a closure order. Dean Garrity, 31, of The Poplars in Golborne, appeared before borough magistrates to admit going to 26 Linney Square in Scholes on January 10 when a court had ruled that only the occupants should be there due its being a magnet for anti-social behaviour. With a victim services surcharge added to the penalty, Garrity has £84 to pay.

A man has denied offences of stalking and dangerous driving. Stuart Kinsley, 33, of Downhall Green Road, Bryn, appeared before Wigan and Leigh magistrates to plead not guilty to the harassment of Joanne Brown between June 12 an 19. The charge alleges that on one occasion the defendant followed her in her car and went to her place of work. It is also alleged that he drove a Ford Transit van dangerously on Poolstock Lane on June 13. Kinsley was remanded on bail until a trial at the same court on October 19 conditional that he does not have any contact with Ms Brown.

A man has been accused of threatening a woman with a knife and damaging her front door. Sean O’Donnell, 33, of Walpole Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, appeared before Wigan justices charged with possessing a large kitchen knife and threatening Emily Liptrot on Vincent Way on June 27 and breaking her door handle and letter box on the same day. The case was sent to Bolton Crown Court where O’Donnell will make his first appearance on August 3. Before then he has been released on conditional bail.

A four-week jail sentence has been imposed on a man who attacked a woman and threatened to burn her Wigan house down. Lee Dove, 34, of Stoneyvale Court, Rochdale, appeared before borough magistrates to admit assaulting Lucy Mullock by beating and threatening arson on May 20. A further charge of assault by beating against the same victim was dismissed after no evidence was offered. The bench told Dove they were sending him to prison because of his criminal record of violence. A restraining order prevents him from having further contact with Ms Mullock and he has to pay £128 to victim services.

A young man repeatedly breached a non-molestation order, Wigan magistrates heard. Jay Cooke, 24, of Linney Square, Scholes, is charged with contacting Tanya Payton on social media last September 24 then going to an address in Ridyard Street in early February in contravention of a civil court ruling. Cooke denies the charges and he was released on conditional bail pending a trial at the same court on October 19.

Two teenagers have been accused of violence and attempted robbery. Liam Bailey, 18, of HMP Manchester, and a 17-year-old who cannot be identified are accused of assaulting Dennis Unsworth. Bailey is accused of intending to cause him grievous bodily harm and an alternative charge of actual bodily harm while the 17-year-old faces only the more serious charge on September 1 last year. Both are also accused of trying to rob Graham Hill of his mobile phone on March 25 this year and Bailey is further charged with also trying to rob Nathan Shaw of his mobile a day earlier. A third boy of 16 is accused of the two attempted robberies. All three were remanded in custody until a first appearance before a Manchester Crown Court judge on August 6.

A man has denied vandalising a woman’s car. Jamie Evans, 28, of Keble Street, Ince, appeared before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to the single charge of causing £500 of damage to Danielle Johnson’s BMW on June 22. He was remanded on unconditional bail until a trial on October 19.

A man has admitted assaulting a police officer and breaching a restraining order. Ian Riley, 34, of Linney Square, Scholes, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead guilty to attacking a PC Farrelly and entering Barclay’s Bank in contravention of a court ruling on April 13. He was released on conditional bail pending sentence on July 28.

A young man will face a judge over claims of dangerous driving. Shaun Chadwick, 27, of First Avenue, Springfield, appeared before borough magistrates accused of dangerously driving a Ford Transit on several roads in Hindley and Leigh on April 12 and that he was not insured and did not have a licence to drive. Because of the seriousness of the case, it was sent to Bolton Crown Court where Chadwick will make a first appearance on August 4.

A Wigan man has been accused of stalking and attacking a woman. Benjamin Dickenson, 28, of Edinburgh Drive, Hindley Green, stood before borough justices charged with conduct amounting to the harassment of Ashleigh Dalley between February 1 and April 30, and on that latter date assaulting her by beating. The defendant has yet to enter a plea and the case was adjourned until September 13, before which Dickenson is remanded on conditional bail.

An anti-social neighbour who flouted a noise abatement notice three days running has been hit with multiple fines. Ellis Beadle, 28 of Romford Place, Hindley, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit to three charges of breaching the previously imposed notice on November 14 to 16 by playing loud music, having the TV volume up high, while making shouting, singing and banging noises. In total he was hit with £300 worth of penalties.

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