A street racer who killed a 14-year-old girl while speeding at 93mph, a revenge porn spreading ex-boyfriend and a former "promising" Liverpool FC footballer turned drug dealer were among the Merseyside criminals jailed this week.
Also locked up was a successful businessman who stole £800,000 from a hotel after it was gutted by a "devastating" fire. Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that a carjacker attacked a woman with a pair of scissors before entering a shop claiming to be from Trading Standards then brandishing a fake gun.
Here are the faces of seven criminals who were imprisoned in our region in the past week:
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Simon Matthews-Williams
The well-known businessman was jailed for stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from a hotel after it was destroyed by a fire.
Simon Matthews-Williams was previously a successful hotelier who owned sites such as Liverpool city centre's waterfront Crowne Plaza, the £15million Hotel Indigo on Chapel Street and James Street's three-star Days Inn. But the 62-year-old is now beginning a 28-month prison sentence after abusing his position of trust to transfer nearly £800,000 out of the bank account of one of his former companies and never paying the huge sum back.
The "experienced company director" was a minor stakeholder in the Gateway to Wales Hotel, near to the A494 in Deeside, North Wales. By early 2019 though, Matthews-Williams "no longer had any role" in the business and "had long given up any financial interest or management in the hotel".
However, he still retained access to its banking facilities. And on five separate occasions, he made payments of just under £200,000 into another of his company's accounts before transferring the total of £794,779 onwards to himself and his family members "to pay bills that he was being pressed to pay".
Jordan Duckett
The dealer pushed drugs around Merseyside and Cheshire but has now been jailed after being caught by a graft phone.
Jordan Duckett came to the attention of police after officers investigating the county lines gang 'Scouse Macca Team' after photographs of him and texts sent from him were found on the device. It came after detectives investigating the gang carried out searches at a property on Warkworth Court, Ellesmere Port, in March this year.
When the 26-year-old's home in Wallasey was subsequently raided, 64 wraps of crack cocaine - valued at £640 - were discovered. He admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis and possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply and was given three years and four months in prison.
Zayd Alasaly
The robber laughed after stealing an e-scooter at knifepoint from a woman who “froze in fear”.
Zayd Alasaly, from Toxteth, was one of two men who attacked Roberta Kirkpatrick when she visited the Spar shop on Newtown Road in Carlisle shortly before 11pm on July 15. She had left her vehicle near to the entrance, with the 20-year-old defendant and 19-year-old accomplice Liam Bateman also being present in the store at the time.
Miss Kirkpatrick left the shop, and as she pulled a cigarette out of her pocket Alasaly threatened her with a large kitchen knife. She fled to a friend's house afterwards "shaking, crying, visibly upset".
Both Alasaly, of Corinto Street, and Bateman, from Carlisle, admitted robbery, with the former also pleading guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was handed four years behind bars.
Brandon Turton
The street racer was speeding at up to 93mph in a 30mph zone when he struck and killed a 14-year-old girl.
Courtney Ellis' teenage sister witnessed her sibling's horrific death, while the youngster's mum unknowingly encountered the scene of the crash as she drove home from work. Driver Brandon Turton today cried as he was jailed for causing the fatal collision, having been racing at high speeds around residential streets in convoy with another car at the time.
The schoolgirl, from Haydock, died instantly after being hit by the 21-year-old's Renault Megane on Blackbrook Road in St Helens shortly after 9.45pm on September 19, 2020. He had been "showing off or driving in anger", having made unsuccessful attempts to woo a female passenger.
Turton was handed six years and nine months in prison after admitting causing death by dangerous driving and dabbed his eyes with a tissue as he was led down to the cells. Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: "Courtney was a loving child with enormous compassion and promise, who leaves behind a shattered and traumatised family."
Matthew Sanderson
The carjacker attempted to rob a woman armed with a pair of scissors before entering a shop claiming to be from Trading Standards then brandishing a fake gun.
Matthew Sanderson demanded to see the visas of Polish workers in the store before attacking them and taking cash from the till. Only hours before, he had tried to steal a lone female's car as she filled her tyres with air on a petrol station forecourt.
Driver Pauline Garner, 58, "acted with commendable bravery" by disarming her assailant after being attacked at the BP garage on Priory Road in Anfield on her way to work. Sanderson responded by biting her on the arm and claiming that she had robbed him.
Hours later, he raided Tatry on Breck Road and threatened to shoot staff before stealing cash. The 38-year-old admitted offences including robbery and assault with intent to rob and was jailed for eight years.
Gareth Rees
A revenge porn victim was left feeling "distraught" after her ex-boyfriend posted explicit pictures and videos of her on social media.
Gareth Rees uploaded the materials of his former partner on Facebook and Instagram, as well as sending them directly to her loved ones. She was left so devastated by his actions that she was unable to even walk the dog.
The 44-year-old defendant had a "strong, visceral and disproportionate reaction" to the end of their year-long relationship and sent "sexual materials" of the victim to her daughter's boyfriend - who did not open the message. Just over a week later, he posted an explicit video of the woman on Instagram. The following day, Rees messaged a pornographic image to another of her ex-boyfriends but deleted the picture before it was seen.
Around a month later, he posted a photograph of her to Facebook in which her face could not been seen. Magistrates jailed him for a year after he admitted disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress and breaching a non-molestation order.
John Smith
The drug dealer ruined his "promising" Liverpool FC career by getting involved with cocaine and heroin.
John Smith once had a "promising career" as a youth player with the Reds, but "wasted his talent" by falling into drink and drugs. And the now 38-year-old was caught with thousand of pounds of class A substances when police pulled over his car.
When his home on Carr Lane in Norris Green was raided, he owned up and "told the officers where the drugs were". In total, 22g of crack cocaine worth around £2,460 and 23g of heroin with a potential street value of £2,080 was seized.
The search also uncovered £3,130 in cash. He admitted possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and was jailed for 32 months.
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