A drug dealer whose prints were discovered on a loaded shotgun, a "martyr for cannabis" and a woman who started a fire at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral were among the Merseyside criminals jailed this week.
Also locked up was a "middle man" in the supply of heroin and cocaine who was exposed by pictures of his girlfriend's dog, Dennis the dachshund. Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that an abusive boyfriend set fire to a bed with his girlfriend inside.
Here are the faces of 12 criminals from our region who were imprisoned in the past week:
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Matthew Reed
A child rapist dragged a boy down a secluded footpath before sexually abusing him.
Matthew Reed has now been convicted of sexual offences three times, having been handed a lengthy jail sentence previously for raping another young child. The paedophile shouted "bulls***" as he was locked up again on Monday.
The now 30-year-old raped his victim when he was as young as seven on four separate occasions in Widnes in the late noughties. Reed admitted two counts of rape and was imprisoned for 11 years, as well as being handed an extended five years on licence.
Kurtis Bolton
Detectives worked out the identity of a multi-kilo cocaine trafficker using the EncroChat handle 'Ladbrookes' when a contact gave away his name in a message.
Kurtis Bolton was involved in the supply of more than 23kg of the class A drug. The 26-year-old, of Hoblyn Road, Bidston, appeared to be working for a user with the EncroChat handle 'PoundCake', and had been involved in collecting and transporting around £305,000 in dirty cash as part of the conspiracy.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to transfer criminal property, being carried in a stolen vehicle being driven dangerously and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Bolton was jailed for nine years and eight months.
Natasha Tisdall
A woman shouted "f***ing p*** take" as she was jailed over an arson attack at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Natasha Tisdall was previously handed a 15-month imprisonment suspended for two years in November last year after pleading guilty to arson. This came after an incident shortly after 6.30am on Sunday, May 29 2022, in which the 35-year-old lit a fire at the doors to the Mount Pleasant site's eastern entrance.
But she breached the order after being made homeless - which meant she was not able to reside at the address or any alternative accommodation, as she was required to do by the court order. Tisdall admitted breaching a suspended sentence order and was handed 14 months.
Cain Meadows
A man doused his girlfriend’s bed in turpentine and set it on fire while she was still in it.
Cain Meadows quickly put the fire out, but then began to punch the victim repeatedly and pressed a knife against her throat and back. He also tipped the mattress on top of her, slashed it repeatedly and made threats to kill her.
The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident, driving with no insurance, aggravated vehicle taking, and possession of a bladed article and was convicted of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and assault causing actual bodily harm after a trial. He was jailed for 66 months.
Ilias Turner
A man told a judge "you've killed my dog" and called him a "f***ing rat" as he was jailed over a road rage incident.
Ilias Turner deliberately reversed his van into a car before unleashing a tirade of sickening racist abuse at another motorist. Following his conviction, he also made vile threats to send indecent images of children to a Probation Service worker.
Turner was convicted of dangerous driving and racially-aggravated harassment by a jury. He was imprisoned for a year
Ian Wilkinson
A paedophile will die in prison after being jailed for historic sex offences.
Ian Wilkinson repeatedly abused a teenage boy during the 1980s. Decades later, the now 64-year-old has finally been brought to justice.
Wilkinson was found guilty of nine counts of indecent assault by a jury following a trial. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for nine years and told to sign the sex offenders' register for life.
Bobby Allen
A "middle man" in the supply of heroin and cocaine was caught after sending pictures of his girlfriend's dog to other drug dealers.
Police discovered the "Little Book of Dennis", a photo album containing countless shots of the pet dachshund, in Bobby Allen's bedroom when they raided his grandmother's home. This ultimately identified the 27-year-old as the EncroChat user "AcidGlove", who had secretly been trading in huge quantities of class A and B illicit substances.
Allen admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and cannabis during an earlier hearing. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for 13 years.
Dean Oakley
A man launched a brutal attack on his ex-girlfriend while she was holding their one year old baby.
Dean Oakley tried to drag his victim across the room, causing the youngster to bang her head on a bannister, then began to hit himself repeatedly with a frying pan. He was sentenced to 18 months for assaulting occasioning actual bodily harm, criminal damage and assault by beating.
Thanh Hoang
A golfer got more than he bargained for when he went looking for balls in a bush.
The man was searching for stray golf balls in shrubbery near to Kirkby Valley Golf Club when he discovered a loaded sawn-off shotgun hidden inside a pillow case. When convicted drug dealer Thanh Hoang's DNA was found on the firearm, he claimed that he had previously come across the weapon while out metal detecting.
The 43-year-old admitted possession of a firearm during an earlier hearing. Hoang bowed to the judge and said "thank you" after being locked up for five years.
Gary Youds
A "cannabis martyr" told police that he was "saving the city by producing the fruits of the earth for the people" when they discovered his grow.
Gary Youds, a well-known campaigner for the legalisation of the class B drug and the former owner of a "cannabis café", had been supplying cannabis oil to a dying man free of charge in order to ease the pain of his terminal cancer. However, a judge at Liverpool Crown Court found that he had also been producing and selling "purple haze" for profit.
Youds pleaded guilty to production of cannabis, possession of cannabis with intent to supply and possession of cannabis during an earlier hearing. He was jailed for three years after "commercially benefitting" from his farm.
Jack Williams
A man raped a woman while she slept and later bit her before demanding she perform oral sex on him.
Jack Williams committed a number of sexual offences against a woman, leaving her "emotionless" and "hollow". He forced her onto her hands and knees, ripped off her clothes, touched her sexually and refused to let her leave the room.
The 24-year-old admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, sexual assault, rape and sexual assault by penetration and another serious criminal offence in addition to a criminal damage charge, as well as robbery after targeting a 15-year-old boy for his bike. Williams was sentenced to 11 years and two months behind bars
Ryan Jones
A convicted heroin and crack cocaine dealer trafficked a boy in care to work in the supply of drugs hundreds of miles away from his home.
The teenager told staff at the children's home where he was living that he was going fishing in Wales before Ryan Jones put him on a train from Liverpool Lime Street to the south west of England.
The 27-year-old admitted arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation. He was jailed for an additional 43 months - to be served consecutively to his current four-year term - and given a 10-year slavery and trafficking prevention order.
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