These are the people jailed this week for crimes linked to Merseyside.
They include a dad cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter after he brutally killed a burglar who had targeted his home.
Others jailed at Liverpool Crown Court this week include a paedophile caught with indecent images of children for the fourth time and a man who subjected his neighbour to weeks of abuse before stabbing him.
READ MORE: Prisoner slashed across face in HMP Liverpool 'revenge attack'
Two stalkers who subjected their ex-girlfriends to separate campaigns were also jailed, as was a burglar who stole items intended to be sent to help people displaced by the war in Ukraine.
These are the people jailed in Liverpool this week.
Stephen Hill
A man left a bag of poo on his disabled neighbour's doorstep, attacked him with a hammer and stabbed him with a steak knife.
Stephen Hill also threatened to kill David Smith's dog and daubed offensive messages over his car in paint during an unprovoked campaign of harassment. The pair had previously lived alongside each other harmoniously, but within a fortnight the victim was left "fearing for his life".
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, that Mr Smith had been residing at his home on Beaufort Street, Dingle, for around 10 months at the time of the string of incidents in September and October 2021.
There were a range of events leading up to Mr Smith’s stabbing, including Hill verbally abusing him and swinging a claw hammer at him. Early on October 5, Mr Smith was in his front garden smoking a cigarette when he saw Hill "marching towards him". He said he was "looking for his cat" when asked what he was doing, but then leaned towards his victim and attacked him.
Mr Smith felt "excruciating pain" to his right abdomen before Hill "giggled" and fell over, at which point Mr Smith noticed he was brandishing a steak knife with a five-inch serrated blade and had been stabbed.
Hill, of Beaufort Street, tried to "plunge" the knife into him again and shouted: "I'll f***ing kill you, you Cockney c***. Kill, kill, kill." Hill - who appeared via video link to HMP Liverpool - admitted wounding, possession of a bladed article in a public place, assault and criminal damage during an earlier hearing. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
John Parvin
A stalker threatened to "chop up" his ex-girlfriend's young son and cut her cat's head off.
John Parvin, who has a history of abusing former partners, also said he would stab the victim's new boyfriend and burn down her house on Christmas Eve. He also told her hurt herself, knowing she had a history of suicidal thoughts.
Liverpool Crown Court heard earlier this week that the 33-year-old had known Katie Herridge "for many years" as they were "close neighbours" who had lived opposite one another. They began a short-lived relationship in November 2020, which ended in April 2021.
Weeks after they stopped seeing each other, Parving began a campaign of abuse, making repeated threats to her and saying he would stab or throw a brick at her new partner.
In late October 2021, he left a voicemail threatening her son and revealed he had been tracking his ex's movements via her phone. She then contacted police.
But on November 20 2021, Parvin messaged Ms Herridge on Instagram threatening to "chop her son up and bring him back in bits" and burn her house down on Christmas Eve. He said he would "happily go to prison for it", adding: "Drop the charges you grass."
Parvin admitted stalking and witness intimidation during an earlier hearing and was jailed for 35 months. He held out a hand to Ms Herridge in the public gallery and said "I'm sorry" before he was led down to the cells.
Timothy Byrnes
A paedophile collected hundreds of child abuse images on an iPod and tried to use software to hide his activity from police.
Timothy Byrnes downloaded pictures of children as young as three being raped and kept them on the device in his Wirral home - but was found out after backing up the iPod on a laptop. A judge jailed the 70 year old, who has previous convictions for similar offences, at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.
Byrnes’ offending only started in 2011 but he had since received numerous convictions for making and possessing indecent images of children. As part of an order granted after his last conviction in June 2019, he was supposed to give police information about any devices he had that could store images and access the internet.
However, when a probation officer carried out a routine visit to his home in Bebington in January earlier this year he suspected Byrnes had been breaking the rules. Byrnes’ laptop was later searched and it was discovered there were of images of child sexual abuse present from a backup which had taken place when an iPod was plugged into it. The search also showed Byrnes had downloaded two pieces of software aimed at masking his internet activity.
In total, 683 indecent images were found on the laptop and linked to a back up of data from the iPod. Of that total number, 181 fell into the most serious Category A, with some showing children between the ages of three and five being subjected to sexual abuse.
Byrnes pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images and breach of a sexual harm prevention order and was jailed for three years and two months.
Peter McHale
A violent thug battered a teenage Liverpool fan and left him needing surgery.
Peter McHale robbed the 17-year-old and his girlfriend at the Mercure Hotel in Liverpool city centre earlier this year in an attack that saw him chase the boy and punch him repeatedly. The boy’s jaw was broken in three places and he later had a suspected seizure while waiting for medical attention.
The 17-year-old and his girlfriend were out in Liverpool celebrating his birthday on April 11 this year. They had been out for a meal in the city centre and were making their way back to the Mercure Hotel, where they were staying.
On their way back they came across McHale, 36, and his partner and spoke with them briefly, including about how they were Liverpool FC fans. Mr Walmsley said the victim and his girlfriend then said goodbye and left but that McHale ran after them shortly afterwards and began his attack.
CCTV footage showed him punching out at the teenager outside the Mercure Hotel before chasing him inside and continuing the attack there. The teen’s girlfriend, who was carrying his coat, followed them into the hotel but McHale then turned to her and pushed her to the floor before taking the coat and running off.
A judge at Liverpool Crown Court told dad-of-one McHale he was a “violent individual who has no ability to control his temper” as she jailed him for four years and four months.
Abdul Gani
A pervert groped a 10-year-old girl as she chose a packet of crisps in a newsagents.
Abdul Gani, 32, of Langsdale Street, Everton, groped the girl as she was in Jim’s News in Fountains Road, Kirkdale with her nine-year-old cousin. The girls were stood selecting packets of crisps when the pervert walked past and touched her bottom.
Gani then smiled and winked at her before touching her again as she was paying. footage. Shop staff pointed out where the culprit, who did not work at the premises, was believed to be.
Gani, was convicted of sexually assaulting the child by touching after a magistrates court trial but his case was sent to Liverpool Crown Court because of the seriousness of the offence. On the day of the trial, Gani refused to leave his prison cell to appear via video link and he has also failed to engage with the Probation Service for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
Jailing Gani for ten months Judge Stuart Driver QC said that he could not make an extended determinate sentence as Gani has no previous qualifying offences and the appropriate sentence would not be more than four years.
Dewi Jones
The police were called "and they found Gani unconscious outside his address having been assaulted". Gani was jailed for ten months.
Two thieves broke into City of Liverpool College and stole items that were meant to be sent to people in need in Ukraine.
Dewi Jones and Lee Thompson broke into the city centre college in the early hours of June 6 this year. Liverpool Magistrates Court heard they forced their way through a security gate before stealing a number of items from inside the building.
Thompson, 41, and Jones, 45, took around £300 of goods and caused £200 in damage to the college.
Jones, of no fixed abode, was handed 12 weeks in prison and magistrates ordered compensation to be paid to City of Liverpool College. Thompson, of Fenwick Street, was not in court this morning and will be sentenced at a later date.
Peter Bennett
A knife-wielding robber raided the same shop twice within the space of a week while the same terrified worker was on duty alone.
Peter Bennett targeted the Go Local Extra store in Bootle on two occasions in four days, stealing hundreds of pounds in cash from the till. The employee who was on shift during both incidents was left "fearing for his life" as a result and had to quit his role.
Bennett was subsequently arrested on May 20. The court heard of his staggering record of 51 previous convictions for 112 offences, dating back to 1994 and including a count of robbery in 2014 for which he received 27 months behind bars.
He admitted two counts of robbery earlier this year and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years on Tuesday.
Andrew Fearnley-Hill
A man with a string of convictions for sexual offences was caught performing a sex act at a bus stop on his birthday. Serial flasher Andrew Fearnley-Hill now has 12 convictions following the incident of indecent exposure.
On the latest occasion, Fearnley-Hill, 52, was spotted by police officers passing in their car "naked from the waist down" as he performed a sex act on a busy Warrington street.
Liverpool Crown Court was told on Monday that the police officers saw him stood in the bus stop in Folly Lane, Bewsey, just before midnight on July 2. He was holding his penis, while his trousers and underwear were on the pavement next to him.
The court heard that he could be seen by drivers, pedestrians and residents living nearby. Police believed he was under the influence of alcohol as he was "slurring his words and smelled strongly intoxicated".
Fearnley-Hill admitted indecent exposure and was jailed for a year. However, he is already serving a prison sentence and the new sentence will not affect his release date.
Karl Townsend
A killer who stabbed a burglar to death was jailed for 19 years.
Jordan Brophy was attacked with such ferocity that two shards of a broken blade were left lodged in his skull. He died aged 31 as a result of his injuries following the incident in Halewood in October last year.
On Thursday, Karl Townsend was cleared of his murder by a jury of six men and six women. However, he was convicted of manslaughter by a majority of 10 to two and returned to Liverpool Crown Court for sentence on Friday.
Judge Andrew Menary handed him 19 years, describing the attack as a "deliberate and armed response to an attempt to steal his drugs". Townsend must serve two thirds of this term before he is released on licence.
Sentencing, the Honourary Recorder of Liverpool said: "On that night, soon after you had left and while your partner and child were out of the house, the deceased Jordan Brophy and three other accomplices broke into your house. This was plainly a targeted attack - a smash and grab where the burglars were not concerned about making a noise and plainly did not expect to be in the house for very long.
"I have no doubt that they were after your stash of controlled drugs, because I have no doubt that at that time your principal source of income was dealing in class A and B drugs. No other explanation makes any sense.
"What that means is this was not a home invasion with a terrified and unsuspecting householder. As soon as you saw these men on the camera, you knew exactly what they were after.
"What resulted is the sort of violent encounter which so often accompanies this type of criminal activity. You were provoked by Jordan Brophy's actions, but your response was not in any way justified.
"I also find as fact that Jordan Brophy was not armed with any weapon while in the house, and in particular was not armed with a knife. He did not expect a confrontation that night.
"Equally, I find that none of the burglars had a gun. That is an embellishment invented by you.
"The verdict of the jury means that they could not be sure that when delivering a fatal blow, you intended to kill or cause serious harm. But on any view, the level of unlawful violence used by you was shocking.
"In a matter of seconds and without any delay, after entering the property you stabbed Jordan Brophy multiple times to the head, face and arms. Mr Brophy attempted to protect himself, but stood no chance.
"He tried to flee the scene but was caught again by you in the street, where you used the remains of the blade to stab him repeatedly in the neck. The notion that you were at any stage acting in reasonable self-defence is frankly absurd.
"Jordan Brophy was no angel. But whatever he was doing on the night, he did not deserve to die as he did.
"He was a loved and cherished son, brother, partner and uncle. Their lives have been damaged irreparably.
"This is an especially bad case of manslaughter. Mr Brophy was killed in the course of a series of unlawful attacks which must have involved an intention by you to cause harm falling just short of grievous bodily harm.
"You express remorse for what you did and the loss of life involved. I hope that is genuine."
Gerald Cole
A stalker called his ex an average of 325 times a day during a campaign of threats and harassment against her.
Gerald Cole told the woman he would throw acid in her face and burn her house down over the course of weeks of abuse as he called her from inside prison. A judge told him he was convinced he had no remorse and showed no acceptance of the trauma he had inflicted on the “emotionally unstable and vulnerable” woman.
Cole was serving a jail term for assaulting the woman when he called her thousands of times over the space of a few weeks, threatening her multiple times. Cole was jailed for 16 months and a restraining order prevents him from contacting the victim.
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