A violent thug who kicked, punched and strangled girlfriend saying he was sick of her "nagging" was among those jailed in Greater Manchester last week.
A teenager who stabbed a stranger in the heart and left him to die has also been put behind bars. A disgruntled employee who was fired from his job at Sky and tried to blackmail the firm's chief executive and customers was also handed jail terms.
Jail sentences are handed out to the worst offenders each week and Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases.
Read more: 'Why did it take so long to deport Rochdale grooming gang members... as they continued to walk our streets?'
Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this month...
Killer, 17, stabbed 20-year-old stranger in the heart then fled and left him to die
A teenager who stabbed a stranger in the heart and left him to die has been jailed for life. Baby-faced Klayton Skelly knifed Dylan Keelan twice after they got into a fight outside the Premier Dreams convenience store, in Dukinfield, on February 4.
Cowardly Skelly, then aged 17, fled the scene and left Dylan, 20, dying on the ground. Two of Skelly’s friends, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been involved in the three-on-one fight prior to the stabbing but briefly stayed at the scene to help once they realised the severity of Dylan’s injuries, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
During the brawl, the court heard that after threatening to stab Dylan’s friend unless he ran away, Skelly swung the knife towards Dylan twice and caused two wounds to his chest. One of the blows was so forceful that it caused Dylan’s body to turn.
He collapsed and died moments later. After running away, Skelly hid the knife in undergrowth before returning home, prosecution barrister Rob Hall told the court. It was three days later, after being confronted by his family, that Skelly handed himself into police - he also handed in his blood-stained clothes and told officers where he had dumped the knife.
Skelly, now 18, pleaded guilty to murder on July 15 - the last working day before his scheduled trial. His two friends, both 16, were sentenced to 12 month referral orders at the youth court. Defending Skelly, of Sylvester Way, Hyde, Mark Rhind KC described the incident as a ‘moment of madness’ and said: “On any view what Klayton Skelly did was a grotesque overreaction to the most trivial meaningless coming together.”
Judge Maurice Greene sentenced Skelly to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 17 years.
Driver dropped to his knees and said 'what have I done' after fleeing horror crash
A dad-of-four ploughed into a motorcyclist after 'chasing a red light' in his stepdad's car - which he'd taken without permission and wasn't legally allowed to drive. Nicholas Sweeney, 33, sent Wayne Heath, 56, 'flying into the air' after crashing into the dad's Yamaha motorbike on Ashton Road after both men drove through an amber light.
Mr Heath, who had been driving home from work at the time of the horror collision, suffered catastrophic injuries and told a passer-by who came to his aid he 'couldn't breathe'. Paramedics rushed to the scene but pronounced him dead a short time later.
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that on the afternoon of January 18 this year, Sweeney took his stepdad's Vauxhall Insignia for a drive without asking. He only had a provisional licence and wasn't insured to drive the car.
A short time later Sweeney returned home where he was said to have dropped to his knees and told his mum 'what have I done' before admitting 'I think I've killed someone.' The court heard that Sweeney had been on the road for a matter of minutes when he collided with the motorbike being driven by Mr Heath, after he attempted to turn right into Hathershaw Lane.
Oliver Jarvis, defending, said his client was "sorry" for his actions that day and that he too had been suffering with anxiety and depression since the crash. Sweeney, of Chestnut Crescent, Oldham, was jailed for nine months and banned from driving for three years, after admitting aggravated vehicle taking and causing death by careless driving.
Drugs boss raked in almost £750,000 and led lavish lifestyle with girlfriend
A drugs boss who lived a lavish lifestyle from crime will have his designer clothes sold off to pay back some of his ill-gotten gains. Jonathan Walsh, 34, benefited from crime to the tune of almost three quarters of a million pounds.
He ran a huge drugs trafficking operation, peddling cannabis and amphetamine from Greater Manchester to Nottinghamshire. Walsh's girlfriend Jodie Bowie, 32, also got involved in the drugs plot and similarly enjoyed a luxury lifestyle.
The ‘sophisticated’ drugs plot funded designer clothes, expensive jewellery, high-powered cars and cosmetic surgery appointments. Convicted armed robber Walsh was locked up for 15 years, while Bowie avoided jail.
Under Proceeds of Crime laws, Walsh will have to pay back just over £40,000, representing the value of items seized by police including designer clothes worth about £38,000 and a van worth £2,000. Bowie, who worked as a carer for the elderly, is also set to face proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Her case was adjourned until next month.
Walsh, of Warwick Road, Failsworth, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering and was later found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm, conspiracy to possess ammunition and conspiracy to possess an explosive device after trial at Manchester Crown Court in September last year.
Bowie, of Medlock Road, Failsworth, Manchester received 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, a three month curfew between 7pm and 5.30am, 140 hours unpaid work and ten rehabilitation activity requirement days, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class B cannabis and money laundering.
Dad-of-two threatened to post pictures of Sky customers' home addresses on the dark web if they didn't pay him
A disgruntled employee who was sacked from his job at Sky tried to blackmail the firm's chief executive and customers - threatening to leak data if they didn't pay him Bitcoin. Imoudu Chaba, 37, sent letters from his home in Wythenshawe to several customers with pictures of their home addresses, which he threatened to post on the dark web if they didn't pay.
He also sent a letter to the firm's then chief executive Jeremy Darroch and shareholders, which promised to leak millions of customers' details if they didn't send him three Bitcoins - worth approximately £45,000 at the time. Robert Smith, prosecuting, told the court the blackmail campaign went on for around two years, from 2015 to 2017.
In one letter, a QR code was posted for the Bitcoin to be paid to and contained a screenshot of a map which showed the location of the victim's home. Each photograph was accompanied by a symbol of a jester mask underneath it, the court heard.
It's understood he had been employed by Sky in 2015 as a service specialist consultant and had access to all customer's details and services. None of the threats made in the letters were acted on and no money was ever received by Chaba, the court heard.
Defending, Oliver Jarvis said his client was extremely remorseful for his behaviour and 'doesn't recognise the man who committed these offences' and had 'turned his life around.' Chaba, of Heybrook Road in Manchester, was jailed for two years and four months after admitting four offences of blackmail after Judge Andrea Nield said the offences were so serious only immediate custody would be appropriate.
Vile thug kicked, punched and strangled girlfriend saying he was sick of her 'nagging'
A violent thug kicked, punched and strangled his girlfriend over a sustained period saying he was sick of her "nagging" and she should wash his clothes and cook his tea. Nathan Modlinsky, of Bickershaw, near Wigan, met his former girlfriend in Spring 2020, but the relationship soon deteriorated, a court heard.
Prosecuting, Hannah Forsyth, told Bolton Crown Court 'the relationship became very troubled.' On July 31, Modlinsky punched the victim with a clenched fist, grabbed her by the throat and pushed his fingers into her mouth.
The following day he argued with her again because she had not put the washing on the radiator. He asked her 'what type of woman she was' and told her he 'expected her to cook his tea and do his washing.' The court heard the 27-year-old tried to strangle her, told her he would end up killing her and instructed her to hold her arms up in the air, saying: "I will break your f***ing ribs." Terrified, she held her arms up and he punched her in the back.
Ms Forsyth said: "The next day, he woke up late and missed a barbers appointment. He blamed her and attacked her again. He said he would not be happy until he saw her mother bleeding out on the ground. He grabbed her by the face, said it was all her fault and she had made him like this. He said her nagging was too much for him."
Defending, Rachel Faux, said: "He recognises that his behaviour is not acceptable and he knows he will be sentenced for it." She said Modlinsky has had ADHD since childhood and asked the court to take that into account.
Modlinsky, who has five previous convictions for nine offences, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm. He also pleaded guilty to an incident of dangerous driving on March 12, this year, where he was arrested for speeding in a black BMW on Manchester Road in Tyldesley at 2am.
Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh sentenced Modlinsky to three years in prison. He also issued a restraining order and gave Modlinsky a three year driving ban. He will then have to take an extended driving test.
Thug grabbed rail worker by the throat after forcing through barrier without ticket
A yob launched a vicious attack on a member of rail staff after forcing his way through a barrier without a ticket. Michael Lucas tried to get through the barriers at Wigan Wallgate train station without paying on February 6 this year. After being denied and challenged by staff, he left.
But British Transport Police said the 32-year-old returned later that same day and forced himself through the barriers. CCTV showed him grabbing a 55-year-old member of staff by the throat. Lucas then violently punched him to the ground, leaving him with a fractured eye socket, cheekbone and jaw. After the attack, he fled the station.
He dropped his phone and driving licence at the scene, which were then seized by officers. Police were able to track him down and he was arrested three days later.
In June this year, Lucas, of Bath Street, Southport, appeared at Wigan Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm without intent. Yesterday (October 24), he was jailed for two years and four months at Bolton Crown Court.
Read next:
