Wigan's week in court

A Wigan woman who admitted to a benefits fiddle has been spared an immediate prison sentence.

Rachel Raines, 31, of Ullswater Road, Golborne, appeared before Wigan justices to admit trying to claim income support from the Department for Work and Pensions and housing benefit from Wigan Council on the grounds that she was single and living alone when in fact she was living with Dean Ellison.

The offences took place in May and September 2017. Raines was given a 16-week jail term but it was suspended for 12 months, must complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £207 in court costs and a victim services surcharge.

A young man has been accused of threatening two people with a kitchen knife. Bradley Edwards, 24, of Isabella Square, Scholes, is charged with having a blade in public and menacing Sean and Nicola Mason with it in Horne Grove, Worsley Mesnes, on May 2.

Wigan justices sent the case to be heard by a Bolton judge and Edwards will make his first appearance at crown court on November 10, before which he is on bail. No pleas have yet been entered.

A motorist caught driving while under the influence of cocaine has been banned from the road for three years.

Deborah Unsworth, 48, of Beech Hill Avenue, Beech Hill, appeared before borough magistrates to admit she tested positive for the class A substance when police stopped a BMW on Caunce Street, Scholes, on March 1. As well as the disqualification, she has 15 days of rehabilitation activities to complete and £300 to pay in the form of a fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge.

A man has denied making a threat to commit arson and harassing a woman. Jack Fowler, 24, of Derwent Road, Orrell, appeared before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to an allegation that he told Melissa Francis on September 19 that he would burn her father’s house down.

He further denied a charge of harassing Ms Francis and making abusive requests for money from her. Fowler was released on conditional bail until January 3.

A Wigan rail passenger prosecuted for a fare dodge has had his conviction overturned. Jermaine Bowes, of Blackberry Drive, Hindley, had denied the charge but was found guilty after a trial by Wigan magistrates of not having a ticket on a train at Hindley on July 18 2019.

A fine, compensation, court costs and a payment to victim services brought his bill to £404.50. But Mr Bowes lodged an appeal which was set to take place at Bolton Magistrates’ Court next month.

However prosecutors for Northern have said they have “reviewed and carefully considered the facts of this case” and have now asked for payment of the fare only, which Mr Bowes has now paid. As a result Northern will not be offering any evidence and has requested that the case be dismissed.

A man who denied twice flashing at a teenaged girl has finally admitted to his crimes. David Winterbottom, 57, of Thomas Street, Hindley Green, had a year ago pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent exposure on both September 6 and 8 2018.

Due to a growing backlog of criminal cases due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a Bolton Crown Court judge ordered that his trial could only take place in October this year. But when the day of the hearing arrived he had changed his pleas to guilty. The case was adjourned until his sentencing hearing on December 22.

Two men have admitted to assault and one of them to witness intimidation. Jordan Felton, 27, of Dorothy Grove, Leigh, and Cameron Johnston, 26, of Kirkless Street, Wigan, appeared before magistrates charged with attacking Anthony Robinson on May 1.

Johnston admitted to the attack and another on Lauren Robinson on the same day, but at first denied being armed with a hammer. Felton admitted smashing a window belonging to Mr Robinson but pleaded not guilty to assaulting him, having an offensive weapon and days later offering to pay for window repairs if the victim were to withdraw a statement in court proceedings, thus attempting to pervert the course of justice. However, both have now changed their not guilty pleas to guilty before a trial could take place. They will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on November 8.

A couple who fiddled more than £5,000 in benefits have been given community punishments. Justin Lythgoe, 46, of Laburnum Grove, Beech Hill, had stood before Wigan justices to plead guilty to three counts of failing to notify the authorities that he had received credits of £967, £1,207 and £317 in 2019 while knowing he wasn’t due the payments.

Melanie Sharrock, 33, and from the same address, had admitted to fraudulently keeping payments of £1,301, £317 and £1,207 that same year.

to court for a sentencing hearing, both were ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 12 days of rehabilitation activities. Each also has £175 to pay to the courts and victim services.

A Wigan woman admitted to flytipping has been ordered to carry out 80 days’ unpaid work. Justine Jevons, of Brookhouse Street, Scholes, was charged with dumping shopping bags full of bottles, cans, soiled nappies, cat litter and waste food in the back yard of an address in Sydney Street, Platt Bridge, on September 19, October 9 and November 13, 2019.

She pleaded guilty to the offence and, on returning to court for sentencing, she was also ordered by magistrates to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £290 to the court and victim services.

A flytipper has been given a six-month conditional discharge. Megan Ainscough, of Leigh Road, Atherton, admitted to leaving 40 bin bags full of waste in the car park and bushes near the scout hut on Leigh Road on July 31 2019. Wigan magistrates ordered that she pay £71 to victim services and the court.

A Wigan woman has been found guilty of harassment. Lisa Fisher, 39, of Eastwell, Beech Hill, had denied the charge of using threatening or abusive language or behaviour towards Glynn Rostron in February but was convicted by borough magistrates. She was released on conditional bail pending sentence at the same court on November 2.

A Wigan man is facing a hefty bill for failing to tell police who was at the wheel of his Ford Transit van when it was involved in an offence on February 28 last year. Patrick Robey, 45, of Latham Lane, Orrell, was found guilty of five breaches of the road traffic act. With five £660 fines added to costs and a victim services surcharge, he has £3,575 to pay. Robey was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

A man has denied going armed with a saw blade and a heavy metal bar at Wigan’s Asda hypermarket. Jonathon Cadman, 49, of Rose Street, Ince, will next appear before a Bolton judge on November 17 after denying the offences which are alleged to have taken place on September 18.

A motorist was caught drug-driving while banned from the road. Wigan magistrates heard that as well as having taken amphetamine, 58-year-old Carl Booth, of Bluebell Avenue, Beech Hill, was also found in possession of a quantity of cannabis when police stopped a Vauxhall Zafira on Gidlow Lane on March 4.

He admitted to drug-driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, and possession of a class B drug. He was given a 12-month conditional discharge, banned from the road for another 12 months and ordered to pay fines, costs and a victim surcharge totalling £319.

A man will be tried in the new year after denying a theft charge. Lee Davies, 30, of Coplow Dale, Hindley Green, stood before Wigan magistrates to plead not guilty to stealing an unknown quantity of money from Victoria Grundy on October 17 last year. The case was adjourned for a trial at the same court on January 13.

A Wigan woman has been accused of assaulting, neglecting and threatening to kill a minor in her charge. Helen Honeyman, 30, of Church Avenue, Bickershaw, denied the three offences against a girl under 16 which are alleged to have taken place on July 3. The case was sent by Wigan justices to be heard by a Bolton judge on November 17.

A borough man has admitted to having a large catalogue of vile child abuse images. Colin Berry, 24, of Devonshire Road, Atherton, stood before a Bolton Crown Court judge to possessing 287 “child porn” pictures which fall into the most serious classification (A), another 271 in category B and 391 in category C. He also pleaded guilty to having 1,007 prohibited images of a children and 52 extreme pornography images. And Berry also confessed to distributing three category A and two category C images. He will be sentenced on November 17.

A Wigan home which has become the focal point for anti-social behaviour has been hit with a three-month closure order. Wigan justices ruled that only the occupants of 7 Brabazon Place, Kitt Green, including David Conlin, can enter the premises for the duration of the order.

A 12-month driving disqualification has been imposed on a woman caught at the wheel under the influence of drugs. Lindsay Fitzpatrick, 45, of Withington Lane, Aspull, stood before Wigan justices to admit having taken cocaine before police stopped her Peugeot 107 on Chapel Street, Ince, on April 3. As well as the road ban, Fitzpatrick must also pay a fine, victim services surcharge and costs totalling £239.

A motorist will be sentenced next month after finally admitting to dangerous driving, breaching a road ban and being at the wheel without insurance. Billy Joe Sharratt, 19, of Laburnum Avenue, Ince, had initially denied the three charges against him but on his first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge, he changed his pleas. He will be sentenced on November 29.

A man who assaulted his ex, threatened her and broke her windows has been given a community punishment. Layton Hoban, 24, of Whitbeam Grove, Hindley, stood before Wigan justices to admit attacking Megan Ainscough on April 24 and also to menacing her and causing £400 in criminal damage on August 28 - two charges he had previously denied. His community sentence includes 20 days of rehab activities and Hoban is the subject of a restraining order preventing him having contact with Ms Ainscough unless through solicitors. A compensation order, costs and a victim services surcharge mean he also has £790 to pay.

A motorist twice caught driving under the influence of cocaine just days apart has received a 20-month road ban. Mark Waite, 44, of Garswood Street, Ashton, stood before Wigan justices to admit testing positive for the illegal class A substance when stopped at the wheel of a Ford Transit on April 16 and 23 on Lamberhead Road and Rose Hill Avenue respectively. Fines and costs mean he also has to pay £359.

A motorist who was well over double the drink-drive limit has been banned from the road for 23 months. Oliver Knowles, 21, of Gidlow Lane, Gidlow, stood before Wigan justices to plead guilty to having given a reading of 95 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 35.

He can reduce his ban to 23 weeks if he completes a state-sanctioned course for drink-drivers. He must also carry out 40 hours of unpaid work and fork out £180 to the court and victim services.

A serial thief who stole cosmetics on eight different occasions, one of them during a robbery, is awaiting his fate. Josh Andrusjak, 27, of no fixed address, stood before Wigan justices to admit to seven charges of stealing make-up pallets from Superdrug and Boots between October 2 and 11.

There was a separate, more serious, charge of robbery against one of the Superdrug incidents on October 5. The total amount of products stolen has been estimated at around £700. He will be sentenced by a Bolton Crown Court judge on November 17. In the meantime he has been remanded in custody.

A former Hindley Prison inmate has denied attacking a member of staff there. Lewis Parry, now of HMP Forest Bank, is accused of assaulting prison officer Michael Hailwood by beating on August 20 last year. Wigan magistrates adjourned the case until a January 17 trial.

A Wigan motorist has been given a further two-and-a-half-year road disqualification after he was caught drug-driving in Blackpool while already banned. Kyle Burns, 29, of Hallgate, Wigan, was caught in the resort at the wheel of a Vauxhall Corsa while under the influence of cannabis.

He admitted to the offences, which also included driving without insurance, during an appearance before Blackpool justices who sent the case to Wigan for sentencing. Burns was given a 16-week custodial sentence albeit suspended for 12 months, and as well as the new 36-month ban he was made the subject of a 12-month supervision order, must complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £213 to the court and victim services.