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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Adam Everett

Faces of 40 Liverpool criminals who were jailed during November

A pervert who attempted to groom a girl by sending her pictures of his false leg, a paedophile teacher and a killer member of the Croxteth Crew were among the Merseyside criminals jailed this month.

Also locked up was a takeaway delivery man who abducted and raped a teenager while she was on a night out in Liverpool city centre. Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that a murderer strangled his girlfriend to death and stabbed her dead body before scrawling abuse over her skin with a felt tip pen.

Here are the faces of 40 criminals who were imprisoned in our region in the past few weeks:

READ MORE: Tesco security guard left with egg dripping down face after row over bag of crisps

Connor Tomney

Connor Tomney (Merseyside Police)

The thug wore swimming goggles as he chased a man through the streets with a knife before slashing him in the face with the weapon.

Connor Tomney donned the eyewear in a "bizarre" attempt to conceal his identity as he attacked his victim following a "petty" argument involving his girlfriend and her mum's neighbours. He got out of a car and barged past his victim's pregnant partner, saying "move out of the way you little s**g" and chasing him around parked cars.

The complainant fell to the floor, and his assailant swung a knife at him - hitting him on the left check and causing a "superficial" cut. The 29-year-old asked "have I done it?" before continuing to swipe at him with the knife before getting back in the car and being driven off.

Tomney admitted assault and making threats with a bladed article. He was jailed for 18 months.

Ryan Sumner

Ryan Sumner (Cheshire Police)

The thug attacked a couple as they were taking their kids to the park and left a dad fighting for his life.

Ryan Sumner's assault caused their baby's pram to roll into a road and saw the man suffer a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. He was left homeless after his relationship broke down as a result of the incident.

The 22-year-old admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent during an earlier hearing. Sumner was jailed for two years.

Huseyin Erdogan

Huseyin Erdogan (Cheshire Police)

The kebab shop owner tried to slash his wife's face with a skewer before locking her in a cellar.

Huseyin Erdogan also made sinister threats to arrange for a hitman to murder his partner after she accused him of having an affair. The businessman started trying to slash at his victim's face with a skewer, pushing her down into the basement while continuing to "lash out" with the implement.

He trapped her in the cellar and threatened to "cut her with a knife" if she called the police. The 54-year-old later told her: "You're going to make me a murderer."

Erdogan admitted assault and making threats to kill. He was jailed for 23 months

Paul Roberts

Paul Roberts (National Crime Agency)

The paedophile groomed a boy with gifts then bragged about his sick exploits on the dark web.

Paul Roberts was already a convicted sex offender when he assaulted the youngster, having bought him a bicycle and clothing. A probe by the National Crime Agency revealed that the 38-year-old had used the dark web to communicate with other depraved individuals online.

The pervert discussed with others the abuse he had subjected a 12-year-old boy to - which saw him sit next to him on the sofa and put his arm around him, then slap him on the bottom when he stood up. Roberts also kissed him on the lips, watched him have a water fight with another child and offered to buy him condoms.

He also admitted viewing indecent images of children "most nights." The defendant admitted two counts of sexual assault, attempting sexual communications with a child and two charges of making indecent images and was jailed for 40 months.

Connor Smith

Connor Smith (Merseyside Police)

The final member of a multi-million pound drug gang has been locked up.

Connor Smith was one of 10 men ensnared after a National Crime Agency investigation into a Merseyside-based gang which operated an amphetamine lab in North Wales. Conspirators have now been jailed for a combined total of nearly 200 years.

The 29-year-old was involved in the supply of class B drugs only - including up to £2.5million of cannabis. His communications on EncroChat, undertaken using the handle Tactical Hawk, evidenced a total of 499kg supplied or offered between April and June 2020 - drugs with an estimated street value of between £2,242,425 and £2,513,009.

He was also involved in trafficking around 20kg of ketamine. Smith admitted conspiracy to supply ketamine, mephedrone, diazepam and cannabis and production of cannabis and was jailed for seven years and 11 months.

Liam McHale

Liam McHale (Merseyside Police)

The heroin and cocaine dealer trafficked millions of pounds of drugs under the pseudonym "Lawless Fly".

Liam McHale funded a lavish lifestyle by netting huge sums of money through the trade of illicit substances. EncroChat notes and messages revealed that he had been involved in supply of 84kg of cocaine, 13kg of heroin and 26kg of cannabis as well as the transfer of around £5.5million in cash.

This allowed him to buy a house in Mossley Hill for £270,000, where police discovered "high value" watches, jewellery, clothing and shoes when they raided the address - with a crypto mining rig having been set up in the garage. His texts also bragged of buying a Rolex for £24,000 and bragged, "joining an expensive golf club in Formby" and shopping at a Louis Vuitton store.

McHale - who has no previous convictions - had been working for a plastics firm but was furloughed during the Covid-19 pandemic, then moved to a £40k job as a telecoms engineer. The dad admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis and money laundering and was jailed for 11 years.

John Maloney

34-year-old John Maloney of Oil Street, Vauxhall was sentenced to 15 years and six months for robbery and aggravated vehicle taking (Merseyside Police)

He was part of a gang who forced their way into an elderly widow's home and sprayed her in the face with an aerosol can before snatching her wedding ring from her.

The "team of four close knit individuals" - John Toohey, Paddy Doran, Philip Purcell and John Maloney - posed as workmen when targeting the first victim at her address on Burbo Bank Road in Blundellsands on June 4 this year. They told the 76-year-old that there was an "emergency" and that they needed to shut off the gas and water supply to the property due to roadworks before striking - also yanking a necklace from her person.

The four masked robbers then made their way to another house, where they threatened to kidnap the female occupant's children. When caught after leading police on a 90mph chase in the wrong direction down one of the city's busiest roads, Doran and Maloney told officers that they were innocently out on a walk from their home - which was located 11 miles away.

All four defendants admitted two counts of robbery and aggravated vehicle taking. Maloney was jailed for 15-and-a-half years, Doran was locked up for 14 years and eight months and both Toohey and Purcell were handed 13 years and 10 months.

Liam Duffy

Liam Duffy (Merseyside Police)

The killer member of the Croxteth Crew led police on a car chase at more than 120mph within weeks of being released from prison.

Liam Duffy smashed into another vehicle and brought a lamppost crashing down as the 15-minute chase came to an end. He had only recently been freed from jail, having previously been handed a 20-year stretch for manslaughter over the fatal shooting of teenager Liam Smith, of the rival Norris Green-based Strand gang.

The 19-year-old was shot in the head and killed outside HMP Altcourse in 2006. The revenge hit came after an altercation in the Fazakerley jail's visiting hall.

Duffy then masterminding a multi-million pound drugs racket from behind bars. The now 41-year-old admitted dangerous driving and was jailed for 10 months, but is not due for release until December 2026 after being recalled on licence

Peter Croft

Peter Croft, from Crosby, was jailed for seven years and three months (Merseyside Police)

Croft went on a crime spree on which saw him carry out a number of offences, including battering a 72-year-old man and entering a woman's bedroom armed with a knife.

He demanded money before repeatedly punching the pensioner, knocking him to the floor. The 31-year-old then attempted to break into a number of homes in the Crosby area equipped with the weapon.

When the victim of a house he successfully entered asked Croft why he was there he replied it was because of "neighbours and then aliens". He admitted offences including burglary and robbery and was jailed for three years and seven months.

Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones (Merseyside Police)

The paedophile attempted to groom a '13-year-old girl' by sending her pictures of his false leg.

Kevin Jones befriended two supposed teenagers on Facebook before engaging them in a series of lewd chats on WhatsApp. But, unbeknown to him, he was actually being ensnared in a paedophile hunters' sting.

The 56-year-old asked one decoy account to supply him with pictures of herself and sent images of his face and prosthetic leg. The three-time convicted paedophile asked "if she liked older men" and if she had "had sex education in school" while "constantly referring to her as a nice girl".

Jones told her he had been masturbating, talked about pornography and instructed her how to access it - asking her to describe what she had seen once she had done so. He admitted two counts of attempting sexual communications with a child, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and two charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and was imprisoned for four years.

Robert Massey

Robert Massey murdered Jacqueline Forest at her flat on Piele Road in Haydock (Merseyside Police)

The murderer strangled his girlfriend to death and stabbed her dead body before scrawling abuse over her skin with a felt tip pen.

Robert Massey also dressed his deceased partner in designer gear before leaving her lying dead in her flat as he plotted to kill two men with whom he believed she had been unfaithful. The 43-year-old knifed one of them with the same weapon he had used to kill Jacqueline Forest after luring him to the apartment before taking a taxi to his former friend's workplace and attacking him with a pair of scissors.

He had walked free from court two weeks earlier for assaulting the same victim, pouring vodka over her and threatening to set it on fire. Then, after scrolling through her phone and finding suspicious texts, Massey flew into rage - battering and throttling her until she was dead, then knifing her in the womb after finding a pregnancy test.

The killer remained at large for another 24 hours - during which time he went drinking using her debit card, lured one of the men to Ms Forest's apartment and tried to cut his ears off then travelled to the other's workplace and chased him down the street with the scissors. Massey admitted murder and two counts of attempted murder and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.

Paul Daw

Paul Daw, 55, of Higher Lane, Rainford, appeared in court after pleading guilty to historic sexual offences with a pupil (Merseyside Police)

A school teacher groomed and indecently assaulted an underage teenage girl who was one of his pupils.

The historic offences took place in St Helens in the 1990s and only came to light when the victim went to police many years later. The now 55-year-old paedophile groomed the student by lending her books and CDs and giving her compliments before assaulting her.

He previously appeared in court in December 2013 after pleading guilty to filming indecent images of young girls getting changed at the Wirral school where he was now teaching and of teenagers shopping in Liverpool, for which he received a suspended sentence. Daw admitted four counts of indecent assault for his latest crimes and was jailed for 28 months.

Keisha Harty

Keisha Hartley (Merseyside Police)

She left her homeless victim with a permanent scar after stabbing her with a broken wine glass before fleeing to Ireland.

Keisha Harty angrily flipped over a table before launching herself at the complainant during a boozy New Year's Eve party. She then went on the run for nearly a year before finally being brought to justice when she was caught shoplifting.

The 26-year-old admitted wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. Harty was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Terence Page

Terence Page (Merseyside Police)

The drug dealer "thought he was invincible" and was trying to source wholesale amounts of cocaine only days after the birth of his daughter.

Terence Page traded in huge quantities of class A and B substances on EncroChat, using the handles CuppaTea and WorldPossum. The 40-year-old used two different devices on the encrypted communications service and was involved in the supply of at least 14kg of heroin, 1.75kg of cocaine and 2kg of amphetamine.

The broker and middle man was part of an "intricate network which coordinated, sourced and supplied substantial quantities of class A drugs". He was identified as being the man behind the mask of CuppaTea and WorldPossum after providing personal details within his secret communications, including the names and ages of relatives, as well as referencing his home address.

Page was previously handed eight years and nine months in 2011 over another major drugs operation. He admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and amphetamine in relation to his latest crimes and was jailed for 16 years.

David McMullan

David McMullan (Merseyside Police)

The paedophile travelled from Northern Ireland to Merseyside and raped a girl in hotels and fields after grooming her on Snapchat.

David McMullan sent his teenage victim a string of gifts before flying over to sexually abuse her four times over the course of around 18 months. On one occasion, the 32-year-old plied her with drugs which knocked her out - before she awoke to find him having sex with her.

This came after he sent a parcel to her home on Valentine's Day containing a card with a picture of her face on it and a photograph of a man he purported was himself - as well as a teddy bear, a hoodie, £30 in cash, lubricant and a bubble wand. McMullan admitted four counts of rape and was jailed for 19 years.

Claire Dooley

Claire Dooley (Merseyside Police)

The carer-turned-drugs courier was caught with more than 6kg of heroin in the boot of her car.

Claire Dooley became involved in transporting illicit class A substances and dirty cash on behalf of a gang in order to pay off her ex's cannabis debt. Police spotted the 43-year-old's black Audi Q3 stop outside a house on Petherick Road in Croxteth and co-defendant Patrick Campbell walk out of the address with a white carrier bag which he placed it in the trunk - taking out a green carrier bag.

Dooley, of Brunswick Street in Garston, drove off onto the M57 before being stopped on the Knowsley Expressway, where the bag was found to contain a number of brown parcels - later revealed to be 6.69kg of heroin of around 40% purity - which a search of her home revealed £3,000 in cash and a small quantity of cannabis for personal use. Officers returned to the property on Petherick Road and discovered that the green bag contained £12,000, while another 3.12kg of heroin had been stashed in a black bag in a wardrobe.

Dooley stated under interview that she believed she had been transporting cannabis and not heroin. She was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting possession of heroin with intent to supply and possession of cannabis while 29-year-old Campbell received seven years and eight months having pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.

Simon Tunstall

Simon Tunstall set up a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl (Merseyside Police)

The pervert used a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl and stream live video of her to his mobile phone.

Simon Tunstall set up the camera, which sent moving images of the youngster to his mobile phone for approximately four weeks in May 2019. After being arrested, the 45-year-old's phone was found to contain images of the victim in various states of undress.

A statement read out on her behalf described how she has been left "traumatised" by his crimes. She added: "I don't think I'll ever recover from the problems that Simon's actions have caused me."

Tunstall, of Fleet Lane in St Helens, admitted voyeurism and taking indecent images. He was jailed for a year.

Gerrard Myler

Gerrard Myler (Merseyside Police)

The drug deal broker and gang debt collector was paid a wage of up to £5,000 a month and splashed out on a Rolex watch on his birthday.

Gerrard Myler was identified as being the EncroChat user behind the handle DiorFox after sending pictures of his wife and children to co-conspirators. Messages on the encrypted communications platform evidenced the 32-year-old's involvement in the supply of at least 4kg of cocaine and 3kg of cannabis.

The engineer admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. He was jailed for eight years and three months this afternoon.

Paul Cooke

Paul Cooke, 58, of Eccleston in St Helens, jailed over a bizarre serious of frauds using the County Court system (Merseyide Police)

The dad tried to steal £4million with a bizarre fraud involving forged court documents after becoming "obsessed and fixated" with the loss of his house in a repossession.

Paul Cooke sobbed in the dock as the court heard he even roped his then 17-year-old son into his "twisted and elaborate" fraud attempts against three different companies, whom he believed had wronged him in various ways. The 58-year-old's son, Tom Cooke, helped his dad file "ludicrous" claims to the county courts but was not convicted of involvement in the final, most audacious attempt against Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd.

This saw the father issue a "staggering" £4,792,745 claim for compensation against the firm in relation to his family home in Huyton Quarry being repossessed. Cooke changed the company's address on forms submitted to one in London, meaning it was unaware of the litigation.

He said "I am sorry for everything" as he was jailed for 30 months after admitting seven charges of fraud. His son was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months for five counts.

Reece Corran

Reece Corran, 20, was apprehended twice in 2021 (Merseyside Police)

The drug dealer could have walked free from court but was jailed after telling a judge he would refuse to do community service.

"Low level" cannabis supplier Reece Corran was caught in possession of quantities of the class B substance by police on two separate occasions. In court, the 20-year-old's counsel discussed what a suspended sentence would entail, including unpaid work and sessions with probation services.

However, he shook his head in the dock. Judge Gary Woodhall noticed this and stated that Corran had "indicated to the court that it's not going to be workable" and instead locked him up for 10 months.

Angela Burns

Angela Burns (Merseyside Police)

An 86-year-old man was left a "shell of himself" after she violently forced her way into his sheltered accommodation home.

The pensioner spent two weeks in hospital after falling and banging his head when Angela Burns shoved him to the floor. The grandma then rifled through his coat and stole a measly £6.

The OAP answered a knock at the door of his flat in Birkenhead and found the defendant on the other side "appearing ready for a fight". Burns then "pushed him really hard" and barged past him, causing him to stumble backwards and hit his head on the wall.

The 53-year-old then "rummaged through" his jacket, which was hanging up in the hallway, and took the cash before leaving. She admitted robbery and was jailed for six years.

Joseph Ellis

(Merseyside Police)

The taxi driver delivered food to the vulnerable during lockdown but used his job as cover to transport huge quantities of drugs.

Police seized nearly £20,000 of designer goods from Joseph Ellis' home after he was identified as being the EncroChat user behind the handle StrawSmith. This secret life of heroin and cocaine sat in contrast with the man who cooked meals for elderly residents, food that he delivered to their doors.

The 38-year-old "operated as a trusted courier for an organised crime group", taking his orders over the encrypted communications platform. Messages revealed that he had transported at least 15kg of cocaine, 3kg of heroin and 2kg of cannabis.

Ellis, who is also known as Joseph McNabb, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He was jailed for nine years.

Gareth Parr

Gareth Parr repeatedly stabbed a man in front of families who were enjoying a beach themed party at a pub in St Helens (Merseyside Police)

The drunken teenager repeatedly stabbed a stranger with a kitchen knife after a row broke out at a beach party.

Gareth Parr, 19, and his uncle Frankie Parr, 33, attacked the man at the Vine Tavern pub on Elephant Lane in St Helens. Both men were drunk at a beach-themed party held on the evening of August 6 this year where a number of families were present.

The former left the pub after being warned about his behaviour and returned a short time later armed with a kitchen knife concealed in his clothing. Frankie Parr then began having a heated argument with a fellow pubgoer and repeatedly punched him before the teen stabbed him in the back, knifing him again as he lay motionless on the floor.

He admitted wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place and was jailed for five-and-a-half years. His uncle was sentenced to three years, having also thrown an axe through the window of a sweet shop.

Adam Sullivan

Adam Sullivan, aged 26, of Altmoor Road was sentenced to 6 years for possession of a firearm at Liverpool Crown Court (Merseyside Police)

He was ensnared after his DNA was found on a gun hidden down the side of a garden shed.

The 7.62 calibre Tokarev model TT33 type self-loading pistol was discovered inside plastic bags by the home on Altmoor Road in Huyton in September 2021. Traces of the 26-year-old's DNA was then located on the internal spring and guide rod.

Police then raided an address on the same street in February this year and recovered a quantity of cannabis. Sullivan was later found guilty of possession of a firearm without a certificate and possession of a class B drug and was jailed for six years.

Stephen Stokes

Stephen Stokes, 25 of Hume Street, Fairfield and Howley, was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment. (Cheshire Police)

The wedding guest was one of eight men jailed after the celebration ended in chaos after a mass brawl broke out.

Participants caused £15,000 of damage to the Daresbury Park Hotel after violence erupted in the function room bar. Tables, chairs and glasses flew as attendees fought, arming themselves with makeshift weapons such as coat stands and fire extinguishers.

Five officers were led towards the hotel’s Alice bar at about 11.35pm but retreated downstairs to the reception area to request back-up due to glasses being thrown in their direction. Men were taken into custody "covered in blood" and with injuries to their faces and bodies.

Stephen Stokes, pictured above, was sentenced to 20 months after admitting affray. Seven others received terms of up to 27 months.

Anthony Sutherland and Anthony Carroll

Anthony Sutherland (left) and Anthony Carroll (right) were jailed for their part in the massive drugs conspiracy (Merseyside Police)

A delivery of brown boxes tipped police off to the pair's huge £7million heroin plot.

Anthony Carroll, 39, and Anthony Sutherland, 47, distributed vast quantities of drugs around the country. The court heard that police became suspicious when they saw "three large brown boxes" delivered to an address in St Helens.

When the premises was raided by officers from the National Crime Agency, they found a "significant number of tape-wrapped blocks" of class A drugs. More was found at three other Merseyside addresses, including those of Carroll and Sutherland - with 70kg of heroin seized in total.

Carroll was jailed for 13-and-a-half years. Meanwhile, Sutherland was locked up for 10 years and four months.

Renee Weaver

Renee Weaver, 41, jailed for attacking a pensioner on his own driveway (Merseyide Police)

The drug addict jumped into a pensioner's car as he was leaving to collect his grandchildren from school and subjected him to vicious beating on his own driveway.

Renee Weaver, 41, punched the victim repeatedly before scrabbling around in his pockets, swiping cash and his phone and threatening to smash his head in with a glass bottle. Astonishingly, it was the pensioner who was arrested after Weaver, of Vulcan Street in the city centre, lied to officers claiming she was a sex worker and he had assaulted her after refusing to pay up for a sex act.

Merseyside Police handcuffed the stunned grandad only to realise he was in fact the victim. Liverpool Crown Court heard the pensioner felt "let down by the people who are supposed to protect us" after the incident on January 29 last year, off Sheil Road in Kensington.

Weaver admitted theft and assault. She was jailed for 10 months.

Mark Buchanan

Mark Buchanan was jailed for 16 years (South Wales Police)

The delivery driver modified his van to smuggle huge amounts of drugs.

Mark Buchanan, from Everton, was part of an organised crime group and was caught by police couriering drugs to Wales. The 42-year-old was wearing a delivery company uniform and driving a specially-adapted vehicle in order to hide the stash.

He was caught by officers on one of the UK's busiest motorways with 7kg of cocaine, worth approximately £700,000, located in a front passenger seat bulkhead. Buchanan was jailed for 16 years.

Michael Coney

Michael Coney had 20 wraps of heroin and 32 wraps of crack cocaine on him when he was stopped by police in January.

The 58-year-old has 27 previous convictions for 65 offences, including two for dealing class A drugs dating back to 1998 and 2004. He was found guilty of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Michael Cain

He kicked a boy's crutch from underneath him before racially abusing O2 staff and throwing a drink over them.

Michael Cain, of no fixed abode, started his attacks on Wednesday, April 20, at 10am when he came face to face with 16-year-old Elliott Heap, who was on the way to a GCSE revision class at Liverpool Life Sciences. The 31-year-old approached the teenager and kicked one of his crutches, directed insulting comments towards him about his disability, and threatened violence.

In a separate incident, at around 4.30pm on Tuesday 24 May, Cain directed racial slurs towards a member of staff at the O2 shop on Church Street in Liverpool City Centre. It was further reported that he attempted to attack members of staff and threw a drink at them before being escorted out by security.

He was jailed for 28 weeks after admitting assault, harassment and criminal damage.

Darren Blease-Maguire

Darren Blease-Maguire, 26, was seen swinging a machete at another man on Frederick Street in Widnes. (Cheshire Police)

The machete-wielding thug slashed a man in front of terrified drivers.

The street fight broke out between Darren Blease-Maguire and a man he accused of threatening to burn down his flat at about on Saturday, October 22. One witness watched the fight from her car while stuck in traffic on Frederick Street, with the retiree seeing two men “fighting with each other and swinging their arms at each other”.

She heard the victim on the ground “screaming”, which she described as “harrowing”. Meanwhile, Blease-Maguire was seen laughing.

The 26-year-old admitted affray, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for 20 months.

Gerrard Parkins

Gerrard Edward Parkins, 25, of Dovecot (North Wales Police)

The drug dealer has been jailed after supplying a county line with crack cocaine and heroin.

Gerrard Edward Parkins, of Dovecot, was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin after a joint investigation by Merseyside Police and North Wales Police forces into the "Irish Mikey Line". The line supplied crack cocaine and heroin between Liverpool and areas of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl.

Parkins was found to be the man controlling the county line during the investigation and, when arrested, was found in possession of the county line phone. The 25-year-old was jailed for five years and seven months.

Stephen Earle

Stephen Earle, 36, who was jailed over a vicious robbery on a disabled man and a knife attack at a party (Merseyide Police)

The "dangerous bully" battered a disabled man with a beer bottle in a vicious robbery after spotting him using a Zimmer frame in a hotel.

Stephen Earle, 36, followed vulnerable Peter Keppie into his room at the Scarisbrick Hotel on Lord Street, Southport, at around 10am on August 15 last year. He then rifled through his belongings looking for his medication and took his bank card from his wallet before hitting him on the head with a Desperados bottle.

Earle then snatched the victim's new iPhone, a present he had received on his birthday five days earlier. Tragically, Mr Keppie died three months later and spent his final weeks in pain.

The thug admitted robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for 12 years and eight months.

Kevin Bartley

The thug dragged a homeless man along the street as he clung to his car before hitting him with his vehicle less than two weeks later.

Kevin Bartley thankfully only left his victim with grazes and bruising after the first incident. But the 37-year-old then hunted him down and threatened to kill him only days later.

He admitted two counts of dangerous driving and was jailed for 14 months.

Roy Brown

Roy Brown (Merseyside Police)

A little girl had her "innocence taken away" after being sexually assaulted on her birthday.

Roy Brown's actions had a "life-changing" impact for the youngster after she was preyed upon during "what should have been a time of celebration". The pensioner has now been convicted of sexual offences for a third time.

The 77-year-old touched the schoolgirl to the breast area over her clothing on her birthday in what was described as a "sustained incident". A statement read out to the court on behalf of the victim's mum described how the attack left a "horrendous effect" on them, while she "feels the defendant has taken a piece of her innocence away and forced her to grow up before her time".

Brown was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault. He was jailed for four years.

Hameed Naderi

Hameed Naderi (Merseyside Police)

The takeaway delivery man posed as a taxi driver abducted and raped a teenager while she was on a night out in Liverpool city centre.

"Remorseless predator" Hameed Naderi snatched the "very vulnerable" student off the streets in the early hours, coaxing her into his car before attacking her in a public place and his own home. But he remains unmoved over his "wicked" actions.

The 19-year-old victim took a taxi into town shortly after 12.15am and recalled being in a bar on Concert Square, but her next memory was being in the stranger's bedroom with him on top of her and having sex with her. The 30-year-old defendant had also taken her to Riverside Drive in Otterspool, where he also raped her.

Naderi admitted two counts of rape. He was jailed for nine-and-a-half years.

Connor Lunt

Connor Lunt (Merseyside Police)

A man with a pair of tights on his head tried to rob a pie shop.

Connor Lunt brandished a knife at bakery staff and demanded that they hand over cash from the till. But he left empty-handed and was rapped after police discovered his fingerprints on the counter.

Lunt admitted robbery. He was jailed for 30 months.

Neil Rycroft

Neil Rycroft (Merseyside Police)

A schoolgirl was sexually abused by a window cleaner while out rollerskating in the street.

Neil Rycroft subjected the teenager to the attack in a public toilet block after a "chance encounter". She was left feel "numb and disgusted" as a result of the actions of the "predator".

The 48-year-old admitted sexual activity with a child. He was jailed for five years and one month.

Andrew Manning

Andrew Manning (Merseyside Police)

A Tesco security guard was left with egg dripping down her face after a row over a bag of crisps.

Police were called to the Tesco Express store after Andrew Manning, who had earlier been ejected from the premises after staff refused to exchange the snack for another flavour, returned armed with a carton of eggs which he began hurling at the worker. The angry customer then went on to attack his neighbour with a door handle and a bike pump, an assault so brutal it has left him considering moving away from his home of two decades.

The 43-year-old admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of assault and breaching a suspended sentence order. He was jailed for 26 months.

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