Wigan's week in court

A Wigan 30-year-old is to stand trial accused of stalking.

Adam James, of Brockhurst Walk, Worsley Mesnes, appeared before borough justices to plead not guilty to harassing Camilla Juniper between February 11 and March 5 by repeatedly calling and texting her.

A trial date of January 14 was set for next year, before which James has been released on bail, a condition of which includes not having contact with the complainant.

Charges of assaulting and threatening to kill a woman have been brought against a Wigan man.

Jonathan Kay, of Helvellyn Road, Billinge, appeared before borough magistrates to be accused of assaulting Elaine Kay by beating and threatening to kill her on March 2.

He has yet to enter a plea and the case was sent to Bolton Crown Court where he is due to make his first appearance on April 16.

Before then he is on conditional bail.

A banned Wigan motorist has admitted being caught at the wheel.

Christopher Nash, 38, of Church Street, Hindley, appeared before borough justices to plead guilty to driving a Volvo on Hey Street, Ince, on March 3 while disqualified and in so doing, also driving while uninsured.

He was released on bail until sentencing at the same court on April 23.

A Wigan borough sex offender has been given a suspended prison term for breaching the terms of a previous sentence.

Ian Rigby, 65, of Cosworth Close, Leigh, appeared before Manchester justices to admit failing to sign onto the Sex Offenders' Register and breaching a sexual harm prevention order by using a computer with internet access on December 17 when he was barred from doing so.

He was given a 10-week custodial sentence but it was suspended for 12 months.

Rigby must also complete a Horizon rehabilitation course for sex offenders.

A three-year banning order has been imposed on a Wigan football fan who made threats and threw a cup of liquid at rival supporters.

Gary Allen, 26, of Hind Road, Marsh Green, appeared before borough magistrates to admit to hooligan behaviour during a Manchester City versus Tottenham Hotspur match at the Etihad Stadium on December 3.

The order bans him from attending any UK football matches for the next three years.

Allen must also pay a fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge totalling £251.

A warrant has been issued for a Wigan borough man accused of having sex in public.

Robert Wilson, 34, of Chisworth Close in Leigh, had been due to appear before Wigan magistrates to face a charge of outraging public decency by having sexual intercourse in a public place on January 28.

But he failed to attend the hearing and so the bench instructed the police to track him down and arrest him.

Three Wigan people have been accused of involvement in break ins and fencing what was taken.

Amy Tyack, 28, of Marylebone Place, Wigan, stood before justices charged with the retention, removal, disposal or realisation of stolen goods, namely electrical equipment, jewellery, guitars and personal items belonging to Amber Owen and Aileen Mills in February last year.

She has yet to enter a plea and magistrates sent the case to be heard at Bolton Crown Court where she will make her first appearance on April 10 before which she is on unconditional bail.

Meanwhile Martin Threlfall, 31, of HMP Forest Bank, has been accused of carrying out burglaries in Askwith Road, Hindley, and Manchester Road, Leigh, in which those items were taken.

He will appear before a Bolton judge on the same date.

And an arrest warrant has been issued for 43-year-old Ian Johnson, of Derby House, Scholes - who is also charged with the Askwith Road burglary and handling stolen goods - after he failed to attend a court hearing.

A Wigan man has been accused of stealing diesel by using a cloned fuel card.

But a warrant has had to be issued by borough justices after Firicel Buruiana, 42, of Warrington Road, Platt Bridge, failed to turn up to court.

He faces four charges of fraudulently obtaining the fuel from service stations in Leigh and Runcorn in February.

Two 20-year-olds have been accused of being involved in a hit and run collision involving an electric bike.

Joel Pilling, of Latimer Close, Orrell, and Kian Monks, of The Avenue, Billinge, are charged with failing to stop and failing to report an accident on Orrell Road, Orrell, last October 1 in which Margaret Scaldwell was injured.

They are further accused of riding the Talaria Sting electric vehicle when uninsured, without a licence and when not wearing a helmet.

Monks is also charged with failing to provide a specimen to police. No pleas have yet been entered and the case was adjourned to April 17.

Both men are on unconditional bail until then.

A Wigan 31-year-old has admitted to twice trying to engage in sexual communications with schoolboys.

Reece Wilcock, of Slag Lane, Lowton, stood before borough magistrates to plead guilty to two charges of attempting to gain sexual gratification from conversations with a 13-year-old and 14-year-old in May and June last year.

He will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on April 3.

A Wigan man accused of making threatening phone calls to two family members has appeared in court.

John Geraghty, 53, of Whelley, is charged with making phone calls which conveyed a threat to Chloe Geraghty and Lynne Geraghty on December 26.

He is also accused of harassment without violence, in that he is alleged to have made repeated phone calls to Lynne Geraghty between January 7 and 8.

Geraghty has pleaded not guilty to the three charges and a trial will be held at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court on November 26.

He was remanded on conditional bail.

A Wigan man must pay £900 compensation and do unpaid work after stealing a mobile phone.

Kieran Reid, 32, of Farr Close, Worsley Mesnes, pleaded guilty to taking the phone from Paul Holding on November 21.

Wigan magistrates imposed a 12-month community order, with 80 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation activities, and told him to pay £900 compensation.

A man has admitted threatening someone with a broken bottle at a Wigan retail park.

John Hampson, 28, of Sydney Street, Orrell, pleaded guilty to the offence, which took place on Anjou Boulevard, on Robin Retail Park, on January 9.

He also admitted carrying a weapon in a public place, after he was found to have a kitchen knife at Wigan police station that day.

Hampson will be sentenced by Wigan magistrates on April 19.

He was remanded on unconditional bail.

A Wigan man phoned a woman more than 100 times in a day, left 80 voicemail messages and watched her home and workplace, a court heard.

Robert Marsh, 39, of Oak Green Road, Lowton, also went to her house on three days in February. He pleaded guilty to stalking the woman between February 15 and March 5.

A 12-month community order was handed down, with 80 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activities.

He must also pay prosecution costs of £85 and a surcharge of £114.

A restraining order bans Marsh from contacting the woman for 12 months.

A Wigan man has been banned from contacting a woman for two years after he admitted assaulting her.

Joshua Thomason, 22, of New Street, Platt Bridge, pleaded guilty to assaulting the woman by beating her on September 4.

Wigan justices imposed an 18-month community order, with a 33-day programme, 35 days of rehabilitation activities and a £120 fine.

He must also pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge.

A shoplifter has been ordered to attend drug rehabilitation by the courts.

Gaynor Dobson, 47, of Chaucer Grove, Leigh, pleaded guilty to stealing food worth £31.27 from Aldi on September 21, men's deodorants worth £40 from Tesco on September 28, candles from The Range on December 10 and toys worth between £150 and £200 from Asda on December 17.

She also admitted attempting to steal deodorants from Tesco on September 28 and beauty products from Superdrug on December 23, and failing to attend court on December 28 while on bail.

She was sentenced to a 12-month community order, with a drug rehabilitation element, and must pay £106.27 compensation.

A teenager has appeared in court after being caught with a knife and drugs.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to possessing a zombie knife in a private place and class B drug cannabis on September 8.

A 12-month conditional discharge was imposed, while he was told to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £20 surcharge.

The knife and drugs will be destroyed.

A landowner who failed to obey an order to clear up litter has been hit with a court fine.

Ryan Holgate, of Henry Park Street, Ince, appeared before Wigan magistrates to admit to flouting a notice to tidy away an eyesore mess outside his home within 28 days of receiving it.

He was fined and must also pay court costs and a victim services surcharge, putting his total bill at £451.

A Wigan borough shopkeeper has been fined for selling a vape to a minor.

Mohammad Javaid and his business Jfawya and Co, both of Railway Road, Leigh, pleaded guilty to illegally selling a Blue Razz lemonade Elf Bar to an under-18 at the Best is Best store on August 9 last year.

This was in contravention of the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations and the Children and Families Act 2014.

Costs, a victim services surcharge and the penalty itself came to £628.

Two Wigan people who fly-tipped sackfuls of their rubbish in neighbouring roads in separate incidents have been penalised by the courts.

Craig Myers, of Edinburgh Walk, Aspull, appeared before borough justices to plead guilty to dumping seven bin bags of domestic waste on nearby Harold Street on or around March 1 last year.

A fine, costs and victim surcharge mean that he has a £523 bill to pay.

And Leanne Bradshaw, 36, of Warrington Lane, Scholes, also stood before the magistrates to admit depositing four bags of trash from her home at the rear of the road on which she lives.

Her fine, costs and surcharge came to £415.

A Wigan town centre shopkeeper caught selling phoney tobacco has been hit with a four-figure court bill.

Salam Mohammad, 39, of Leeds Close in Blackburn, appeared before borough justices to admit to having in stock at the Galaly Shop on Wallgate hundreds of cigarettes with counterfeit packaging for the Lambert and Butler and Marlboro brands plus loose leaf Amber Leaf tobacco, again in unofficial packaging.

He was prosecuted under the the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and the 1994 Trade Marks Act.

His bill of £1,768 comprises a fine, victim services surcharge and court costs.

Burgling his neighbour has earned a Wigan man a two-week spell in jail.

Carl Reardon, 56, appeared before Manchester justices to admit to breaking into a home down the street from him on Greenhey in Orrell on February 15.

The bench said a custodial sentence was warranted because Reardon had previously shown a flagrant disregard for people and their property.

He also has £85 to pay in court costs.

A homeless Wigan shoplifter who attacked two people has been sent to prison.

Arthur McLean, 53, of no fixed address and no stranger to a cell, appeared before Manchester justices to plead guilty to stealing razor blades and a bottle of Prosecco from Wigan Asda on February 28 and to assaulting Angela Williamson and Daniel Abram by beating on the same day.

He was imprisoned for a total of 35 weeks, the bench telling him that these were "unprovoked and serious attacks."

He must also pay each victim £100 in compensation.

A Wigan man will be sentenced by a judge after finally turning up at court to admit flouting a driving ban.

Graham Liptrot, 39, of Mains Avenue, Bamfurlong, was due to appear before borough magistrates charged with being at the wheel of a Renault Scenic in Woodcock Drive, Platt Bridge, while serving a road ban and doing so while uninsured.

But he failed to attend and so a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Now having stood before justices to plead guilty to both charges, he has been sent to Bolton Crown Court to learn his fate on April 5.

He is on conditional bail until then.

A Wigan woman has denied charges of harassment and wasting police time.

Cathleen Shaw, 38, of Wyre Avenue, Platt Bridge, appeared before borough justices to plead not guilty to the harassment without violence of Lindsey Telford between March 6 and April 11, 2023 and making a false statement to give rise to concerns for people or property's safety between March 6 and 13 that same year.

She was released on conditional bail until a trial is held at the same court on January 13.

A Wigan 37-year-old was given a seven-day spell in jail for breaching a restraining order.

Alan Cooney, of no fixed address, appeared before borough justices to plead guilty to going on March 10 to Marlborough Avenue, Ince – an address from which he was barred by Manchester justices in January.