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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Ellie Kemp

Drugs, rage and sickening abuse: The criminals who've just been locked up in Greater Manchester

A dangerous and violent rapist who subjected his victim to years of abuse, leaving her suffering from seizures and nightmares.

A tourist who tried to steal from a corner shop in Wales and threatened a worker with a 10-inch knife, and a drugs gang which supplied £500,000 of class A drugs between Salford and Warrington.

All these offenders have appeared in court in recent days, and Manchester Evening News reporters were in court to cover their cases.

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Here's our round-up of criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week.

Teen stabbed friend and left him for dead after she hit the roof at him spending the night with her boyfriend's ex

A teenage mum stabbed a friend in cold blood after she flew into a rage at him spending the night with her new boyfriend's former lover.

Kalesha Hemsley, 19, armed herself with a kitchen knife then plunged it into the chest of Matthew Hope, telling him: ''You don’t sleep with your mate's ex, you scumbag.’'

When Mr Hope exclaimed: ''What the f*** are you going?’ Hemsley replied: ‘'What the f*** do you mean, what am I doing?’' before walking off.

Mr Hope managed to stagger home to discover blood 'spurting' from his wound.

Doctors later discovered the blade had breached the muscle around his heart but, miraculously, he has made a recovery.

Inquiries revealed the stabbing in Farnworth, near Bolton, was carried out in revenge after the victim had gone back to the home of Jennifer Settle who had previously dated Hemsley's boyfriend Jack Davies.

At Bolton Crown Court, Hemsley, now 20, of The Pungle, Westhoughton, who has a daughter aged two, wept as she was jailed for two years after admitting causing grievous bodily harm.

Her daughter is currently being looked after by the child's grandmother.

Dad caught smuggling loaded gun into a stolen BMW

Michael McDonagh (GMP)

A dad-of-three has been jailed for seven years and two months for smuggling a loaded gun between arms dealers in Oldham.

Michael McDonagh, 29, is the last conspirator to be sentenced, after he was spotted by undercover cops engaging with several others whilst the deal was taking place.

Led by Nathan Godfrey, 30, the group have been jailed for almost 100 years for the possession of the Retay firearm, which had been modified into a live-firing weapon.

On January 27, 2020, McDonagh and Sebastian Benjamin, 33, travelled from Hemel Hempstead to Reins Lee Avenue in Oldham.

Benjamin was driving a stolen BMW and McDonagh was driving his wife’s VW Golf, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

This was said to be a ‘pre-planned’ and ‘organised’ visit to pick up the weapon from armourer Hedley Brown, 57, who lived nearby.

Vanessa Thomson, prosecuting, said: “At 16.58, Brown left his house in a high visibility jacket. He walked towards the Golf and approached the driver's side - where McDonagh was sat - and leaned forwards into the car then stepped back dropping his hands in front of him.

“He then removed a pair of gloves before stepping away from the Golf.”

Prosecutors said this was clearly the moment Brown supplied the firearm.

The BMW was stopped on Cavendish Street in Ashton-under-Lyne by armed police at around 5.20pm.

Following a search of the car, officers found a plastic bag containing the Turkish XR Retay 9mm self loading pistol, with three rounds of live ammunition in the magazine, as well as 11 rounds of ammunition in a blue sock.

McDonagh was the last to be sentenced as part of Operation Rivington, an investigation conducted by GMP in a bid to tackle the supply and possession of firearms in Greater Manchester.

Sadistic thug raped woman and forced her to have sex with another man in horror abuse

A violent rapist who 'degraded' his victim and forced her to have sex with others has been jailed for 18 years.

Philip Daly's sickening abuse against his victim included forcing her to have sex with himself and another man while she was blindfolded and bound.

He also beat her following horrific bouts of rage, cut her communication from her family and friends, and stole her money.

His victim says her life 'is a constant black cloud' and that she would never get over what Daly did to her.

The woman was left fearing for her life and she was transformed from a 'bright and bubbly' woman to one who lost weight and began suffering from seizures and nightmares, the court heard.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Daly, 42, carried out the sickening physical, mental and sexual abuse over a number of years.

Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Clarke QC cited that a psychiatric report during his time in custody showed that Daly had ‘no understanding’ to the extent he had harmed the victim.

Daly, of Trafford, was handed an 18 year custodial sentence, however, for which he must serve 12 before being eligible for parole. He will also spend a further five on license.

Tourist stole from shopkeeper and threatened him with 10-inch blade

Christopher Steven Bell (North Wales Police/North Wales Live)

A tourist from Manchester was jailed for 16 months after pulling out a 10-inch knife and threatening a shopkeeper in North Wales.

Christopher Steven Bell and his then-partner Paris Davies were staying at a nearby caravan park when they became involved in a heated argument with the workers at the Premier store on Towyn Road in Towyn.

The pair were confronted after Davies passed 'several items' to Bell, who then left the shop without paying,

The footage, which was caught of CCTV camera, showed a physical altercation between Bell, 32, and members of staff.

But Bell lunged towards a male shop assistant and pulled out a large kitchen knife from the waistband of his trousers, threatening he would 'use this.'

Bell, of Marcliffe Drive in Manchester, appeared before Mold Crown Court on Monday (March 7) after admitting theft and making threats with a blade in a public place.

Davies was handed a suspended sentence for her role in the incident in a separate hearing in Manchester.

'Long Haired Luke' drugs gang which operated between Warrington and Salford for six months foiled

For 178 days, the Long Haired Luke drugs line ran like clockwork - day and night - between Salford and Warrington.

During six months, the county lines gang is estimated to have brought around between 1.7kg and 3.5kg of class A drugs onto the streets - with a value of up to £500,000.

Sending out flare messages - often teasing the ‘fattest and best’ drugs - they would tempt users in the small town of Warrington with crack cocaine and heroin.

Now, exactly a year on from their activity, some 14 individuals have been jailed for a total of more than 59 years.

The Long Haired Luke line was dismantled thanks to Cheshire Constabulary’s Operation Spartans - a crackdown on organised crime groups in the area.

A sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court heard how the gang was led by Craig Williams, 20, of Liverpool Street in Salford.

Williams, who was once a talented footballer, would arrange the deals in Warrington from his Salford home while managing the gang’s many graft, or burner, phones.

His involvement took place while being in breach of a previously imposed suspended sentence for dangerous driving and handling stolen goods.

Williams, who has one previous conviction for four offences, was given a jail sentence of six years and eight months.

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