Wigan's week in court

A man has admitted launching an attack then smashing a window of the police car in which officers came to arrest him. Robert Harrison-Woods, 30, of no fixed address, stood before Wigan justices to plead guilty to the assault of Martin Walsh on December 20 and the subsequent causing of £150 in criminal damage to a patrol vehicle. He was released on bail pending sentence on February 9, conditional that he does not have any contact with his victim nor enter McColl’s on Marsh Green.

A motorist has admitted to driving under the influence of cannabis. Bradley Herring, 36, of Whistley Street, Platt Bridge, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to failing a drug test when police stopped a Range Rover on Warrington Road, Abram, on June 10. He was released on unconditional bail until returning to court for sentence on February 14 but the bench imposed an interim driving ban.

A 32-year-old man has been charged with two attacks. Daniel Taberner, 32, of Palm Avenue, Ashton, stood before Wigan justices accused of assaulting Connor Schofield and Leanne Ottey by beating on December 21. He was released on bail pending sentence on February 3 and in the meantime is barred from the Reef Bar on Wigan’s King Street.

A motorist has been banned from the road for a year after testing positive for cocaine and the horse tranquilliser ketamine. Damian Walczyk, 24, of Raithby Drive, Hawkley Hall, stood before Wigan justices to admit having taken the drugs before he was stopped by police in a BMW1 Series in Wigan on August 23. He also pleaded guilty to possession of both cannabis and cocaine on the same occasion. As well as the driving disqualification he also has to pay £635 in fines and court costs.

A man has admitted to having a 3ins lockable knife in a public place. Anthony Heyes, 41, of Warrington Road, Ince, stood before Wigan justices for having the weapon in Grasmere Avenue for no good reason on October 5. He was released on conditional bail until sentencing on February 16.

A man has been hit with a restraining order after smashing crockery at a relative’s home. Jason Dempsey, 49, of Falkirk Grove, Norley, appeared before Wigan justices to admit causing £50 of criminal damage at Pauline Dempsey’s house on the same street on January 18. The restraining order prevents him from attending her address for the next six months. He also has £175 to pay in compensation, court costs and a fine.

A former Hindley Prison inmate has admitted to flashing and twice sending menacing messages to a woman. Cavan Harper, 19, of Andrews Street, Northampton, appeared before Wigan justices to plead guilty to indecent exposure and to sending threatening texts to Laura Rowley on July 8 and September 15. He was remanded in custody to be sentenced by Cambridgeshire magistrates on February 2.

A Wigan man has been charged with attacking two women, threatening behaviour and possession of an offensive weapon, namely a hammer. Stephen Edwards, 53, of Langley Close, Golborne, is alleged to have committed all the crimes - including assaulting Carol Callinan and Lauren Hayes on the same day, December 22. He was released on conditional bail by Wigan justices until a further appearance on February 2.

A series of crimes including theft, drug possession and having an offensive weapon have landed a Wigan man a 34-week spell behind bars. Anthony Connor, 34, of Viscount Road, Marsh Green, stood before borough justices to admit having a specially adapted pair of scissors on Holmes House Avenue, Winstanley, stealing coffee and steak from the Food Warehouse plus detergent, beer and steak from the Co-op, and having cannabis - all on January 5. The court heard that these offences put him in breach of a suspended prison sentence handed down for stealing 11 bars of chocolate. He also admitted to breaching a community order by not making himself available for the implementation of electronic monitoring equipment which was part of a punishment handed down in October for class A drug possession, driving without a licence and failing to provide a specimen for analysis to the police.

A Wigan man has denied being illegally armed with a knife. Craig Higgins, 30, of Church Avenue, Bickershaw, is accused of having a lock knife on Church Avenue, Bickershaw, on September 25. Borough justices released him on unconditional bail pending a first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge on February 25.

A community order has been imposed on a man who stole clothes from a store and threatened two people. Gary Allen, 36, of Woodhouse Lane, Beech Hill, stood before Wigan justices to admit to stealing £230 worth of clothing from Next on November 30, having menaced both Raymond Brown and Bryon Austin on October 10 in an unrelated incident. His punishment includes completing a drug dependency programme and 20 days of rehabilitation activities. He was also made the subject of a two-year criminal behaviour order which bars him from Asda Newtown and Robin Retail Park. Susan McCarthy-Morgan, 55, from the same address, also admitted to the Next theft, was put on a drug treatment programme, ordered to complete 10 days of rehab activities and pay the same fine and compensation. But she also faces charges of stealing £160 worth of food from Farm Foods and assaulting Lisa Horrobin on January 10. A trial over those matters will be held at the same court on March 24.

A Wigan assault case has collapsed following the death of the defendant. Andrew Edwards, 42, of Morris Street, Wigan, had been due to stand trial after denying a charge of assaulting Karen Peters on August 30 last year. But before the hearing could take place borough justices were informed that the accused had passed away and so the proceedings were discontinued.

A man has been cleared of making a threat to commit arson. Jack Fowler, 24, of Derwent Road, Orrell, had 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. The charge was dismissed because no evidence was offered. However he changed a previous not guilty plea to harassing Ms Francis and making abusive requests for money from her to guilty. For that he was ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and 100 hours of unpaid work. Fowler must also pay £445 in court costs and a payment to victim services.

A young Wigan man has admitted dangerously driving under the influence of cocaine. Kien Leigh, 22, of Ruabon Crescent, Hindley Green, stood before Wigan justices to plead guilty to driving dangerously round a whole host of roads in Bolton and Wigan in a Ford Fiesta on February 7 and while having taken the illegal drug. He was remanded on unconditional bail until February 21 when he will be sentenced by a Bolton Crown Court judge. An interim driving ban was imposed.

A Wigan man who stole the contents of a Royal Mail post box has been given a community punishment. Scott Yates, 34, both of Linney Square, Scholes, stood before borough justices to plead guilty to the theft - value of the property unknown - on August 31, having initially denied it. A second charge of post box theft, alleged to have taken place between June 17 and 20 was dismissed after the prosecution did not offer any evidence against either of them. He was ordered to complete a 29-day Thinking Skills programes, 15 days of rehabilitation activities and 40 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation to the Royal Mail.

A former Wigan local election candidate has been accused of harassment. Alan Baines, 65, of Alderley Road, Hindley, appeared before local justices to deny a campaign of intimidation of Jason Metcalfe between April and September last year, namely that he repeatedly swore, laughed, shouted and stared at him. The case was moved to Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court where he will appear on March 9, before which he is on conditional bail. Baines stood as an independent in May 2021’s council elections.

A Wigan man has been accused of making hundreds of incident images of children. Christopher Casey, 42, of Chatteris Close, Hindley, stood before borough justices facing a charge that he created 102 pictures that fall into the most serious abuse categories (A), plus 221 category B images and 1,531 deemed category C between May 6 2017 and June 25 2020. He is further charged with possession of amphetamine. He has yet to plead but because of the nature of the accusations, the bench sent the case to Bolton Crown Court. Casey was released on unconditional bail until his first appearance before a judge on March 2.

A woman who denies peddling hard drugs will be tried at the end of the year. Natalie Devlin, 36, of Orchard Street, Wigan, had appeared before borough justices to plead not guilty to possession of crack cocaine and diamorphine (medical heroin) with intent to supply them on January 10. Making her first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge, she was told her trial would take place on December 8.

A year-long road ban has been imposed on a motorist who was caught driving under the influence of drugs. Lucy Stinson, 41, of Cypress Road, Newtown, appeared before borough justices to plead guilty to having both cocaine and cannabis in her system when stopped by police in a Citroen C3 near her home on July 22 and also to being uninsured at the time. As well as the 12-month disqualification, Stinson must pay a fine, victim services surcharge and court costs totalling £239.

A man has denied charges of knife possession, criminal damage and obstructing a police officer. Layton Mullock, 21, of Glebe End Street, Wigan, stood before borough justices to plead not guilty to having a blade on Acacia Crescent, Beech Hill, damaging Sharon Roby’s car and obstructing PC Roby during the course of his duties. All the offences are alleged to have happened on July 3 last year. A trial will take place on April 25.

A young man who admits threatening two people with a kitchen knife will have to wait longer before he learns his fate. Bradley Edwards, 24, of Isabella Square, Scholes, menaced Sean and Nicola Mason with it in Horne Grove, Worsley Mesnes, on May 2. He was due to be sentenced by a Bolton judge but previous cases meant there was not time for Edwards’s hearing and so it was adjourned to a date yet to be fixed.

A Wigan man has been accused of punching a dog and on Christmas Day failing to stop a dog from savaging a family member. Ian Mitchell, 56, of Linney Square, Scholes, stood before borough magistrates to deny attacking the animal on December 15 and 10 days later having an out-of-control Japanese Akita called Roxy which bit Maureen Mitchell. The case was adjourned until a trial at the same court on April

21.

A Wigan teenager who tried to contact a 14-year-old schoolgirl for sexual purposes has been back in court accused of breaching the terms of his punishment. Connor Lammiman, of Lower Longshoot, Scholes, was given a community sentence last summer by Wigan magistrates for communicating with a girl whom he knew to be under 16 in order to set up an encounter that would have involved a crime under the Sex Offences Act. The 18-year-old also admitted that this communication on May 17 put him in breach of a sexual risk order previously imposed on him by justices only in January last year. He was given 16 months in a young offenders’ institution but the term was suspended of two years. He was also made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must sign on the sex offenders’ register for the same amount of time. Now back at Wigan Magistrates’ Court he pleaded guilty to breaching the Sexual Offences Act by failing to notify the authorities that he had a new bank card. Sentencing will take place at Bolton Crown Court.