Two men, both under the age of 21, who killed their Uber driver after brutally attacking him in the street were among the criminals locked up in Manchester last week. Prison terms were also handed to a pub landlord who groomed and sexually assaulted underage girls, raping one as young as eight years old and holding a knife to her throat.
A driver who killed a woman after ploughing head on into her car while distracted by his mobile phone and then tried to blame his victim has also been jailed.
Read more:
Jail sentences are handed out to some of the worst offenders each week and Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases. Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week...
Murderers who savagely killed Uber driver after he told them to stop eating burger and chips in his taxi
Connor McPartland, 20, and Martin Treacy, 18, have been jailed for life after killing 'dearly loved' taxi driver Ali Asghar in the street. Mr Asghar's brother said he couldn't recognise his sibling after the attack.
Mr Asghar, described as a 'true gentleman', had picked up the friends in Oldham town centre before taking them to Rochdale where they planned to meet some girls and then head to a Halloween party. Treacy started eating a chicken burger and chips in Mr Asghar's new Mercedes.
Mr Asghar pulled over on Queensway after Treacy refused to stop eating, Manchester Crown Court heard. Then Mr Asghar was brutally attacked by the pair, being punched and kicked to the head. He was pushed over and hit his head on the wheel of his own car, and died two weeks later. A judge said Mr Ali was 'in no way to blame'.
McPartland and Treacy, who both had no previous convictions, will be in their 30s when they are considered for release. McPartland will serve a minimum of 14-and-a-half years, and Treacy a minimum of 13-and-a-half years.
The judge said he accepted that they had not intended to kill Mr Asghar, and that the attack was not premeditated. He also praised another taxi driver who tried to intervene, and gave him a £500 reward for his public spirited actions.
The dangerous paedophile who broke order designed to stop him offending AGAIN - after targeting a child on TikTok
A paedophile has been deemed ‘dangerous’ by a judge after befriending a teenage girl online and persuading her to perform sexual acts for him. Dante Ingham-Marsters also made the victim watch as he performed an act himself.
Ingham-Marsers, who was already the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) when he committed the offences, has now been jailed after a jury convicted him of two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, the 27-year-old was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years. He will also spend an additional two years on extended licence following his eventual release. Ingham-Marsters, of Bollin Avenue, Bowdon, originally made contact with the girl - who was under 16 - on social media app TikTok and used other social media sites to speak to her, the court was told.
She watched him perform a sexual act on at least two occasions and incited her to engage in two separate sexual acts, on at least three occasions each. Following his sentence, Ingham-Marsters will be subject to a SHPO and will have to sign the sex offenders' register for an indefinite period of time.
Lying Mercedes driver who killed woman while distracted by his phone tried to blame her
A lying Mercedes driver killed a woman after ploughing head on into her car while distracted by his mobile phone and then tried to blame his victim. Mohammed Javadpour, 53, launched a desperate bid to cover up his selfish actions just moments after the crash in Stockport, which ultimately killed 56-year-old Elaine Goodwin.
Ms Goodwin, a self-employed nail technician, had nipped out to the shops to buy some milk when Javadpour crashed into her Vauxhall Corsa with his Mercedes SUV. Shortly after the smash, he arranged for someone to travel to the scene on Bramhall Lane South to remove the phone he had used to make a call about a minute prior to impact, before police were able to search his car.
Ms Goodwin died 12 days later after suffering terrible injuries. Her parents were on holiday in Tenerife at the time and faced an agonising wait to get home to be by her side in hospital, after initially having difficulty arranging a flight home. Her cat Mij was so traumatised that it had to be put down.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard Javadpour was on his way home to Woodford after driving to a chemist and picking up a takeaway pizza on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. He moved onto Bramhall Lane South, a road which requires 'considerate' driving and includes a blind bend to the left, at about 8.30pm.
Instead of steering to the left, Javadpour continued into the middle of the carriageway and onto the wrong side of the road, colliding head on into Ms Goodwin's car. After the crash Javadpour 'quite shockingly' tried to blame Ms Goodwin for causing the collision, saying she had driven on the wrong side of the road and he'd swerved to avoid her. The lie was blown out of the water by an expert reconstruction.
Javadpour, of Ringway Avenue, Stockport, will serve half of his sentence in jail. He was also banned from driving for five-and-a-half years.
Pub landlord raped girl, 8, then threatened to kill her if she told anyone
A pub landlord raped an eight-year-old girl and threatened to kill her if she told anyone what had happened to her. Carl Marland, 58, carried out a series of sexual assaults on several young girls he had groomed with expensive gifts and drugs.
The youngest of his four victims was an eight-year-old girl, who Marland sexually assaulted several times. On one occasion he held a knife to the girl's neck after having raped her. He travelled to Greater Manchester from London, where he ran a pub, to visit the girls and carry out his attacks.
Prosecutor Vanessa Thomson told the court that Marland groomed his victims by giving them gifts of clothes and money, as well as cannabis and cocaine. After becoming suspicious about gifts her daughter was receiving in the post, the mother of one victim found 'inappropriate' Snapchat and WhatsApp messages from Marland on her daughter's phone.
Police and social services were alerted and he was arrested in London in January of last year. Officers also uncovered videos Marland had secretly filmed of one of the girls getting undressed. In one piece of footage, he discussed having sex with a victim.
Marland attempted to convince officers he was impotent and was therefore 'not capable of doing the things he was accused of'. He previously pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, three counts of sexuality activity with a child, two counts of making indecent photos of a child, three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of voyeurism.
A jury convicted him of a further 11 charges following a trial last year. They were four counts of rape of a child, five counts of sexual assaulting a child, causing a child to watch a sexual act and assault of a child by penetration.
Judge Rachel Smith passed a 21-year extended sentence, including 17 years in prison and an extra four years on licence. Marland will have to serve two-thirds of his 17-year prison sentence before he can be considered for parole.
'Evil' woman murdered partner by strangling him to death after tying him up for hours while she sexted new man
A manipulative woman murdered her boyfriend after tying him up and strangling him with an extension lead as she flirted and sexted with her new man. Charlotte Dootson, 25, sent a picture of 53-year-old Mohammed Mukhtar to the man while he was bound by his hands, feet and neck with extension leads.
He was tied up for more than two hours before she killed him. Mr Mukhtar, described as being 'harmless' and 'vulnerable', had suffered domestic abuse at Dootson's hand for years. She had repeatedly attacked him during a campaign of cruelty, and at the time she murdered him.
Prior to killing him, Dootson, a former drug addict with a personality disorder, also either kicked or stamped on him and caused a life threatening injury to his liver. Mr Mukhtar, who had mental health issues and problems with the synthetic cannabinoid spice, suffered serious injuries and needed medical treatment.
But he would make excuses for Dootson, lie to protect her or refuse to support a prosecution. In the week prior to the killing, Dootson had struck up a relationship with a man online. On the morning of August 30, while she was with Mr Mukhtar in his flat on Droitwich Road, Miles Platting, they flirted with each other and exchanged sexual images and messages.
At 11.14am, Dootson messaged him saying: "I've done something bad, I mean bad bad, I need to run." Then five minutes later she called her father. "I think I've killed him," she said. "I think he's dead, he's not breathing, not moving." He told her to put Mr Mukhtar in the recovery position, give him CPR and 999, but Dootson refused and said this would alert the police.
About half an hour later she called a friend of Mr Mukhtar and told him: "I've killed Mohammed. I've tied him with the extension lead, from his neck with the extension lead." Now Dootson has been jailed for life to serve a minimum of 22-and-a-half years after admitting murdering Mr Mukhtar.
Terrifying video captures police chase through town before driver tries to hide in bushes
A driver has been jailed after leading cops on a terrifying pursuit through a Greater Manchester town before trying to hide in bushes. Shocking footage captured Stuart Haslam, 44, squeezing his Vauxhall Astra — using false number plates — in between other traffic in Dukinfield, Tameside.
He also drove across green areas of the town and down a pedestrianised alleyway. The driver, of Cunliffe Street, Hyde, dumped his car and tried to hide in bushes. However, he could not fool the officers pursuing him, who apprehended him at the scene.
He led officers on his reckless journey through Dukinfield on March 29 earlier this year. Now, Haslam has been jailed for 16 months for four offences. He was also banned from driving after his conviction for dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, driving without insurance, failing to stop at a collision, and failing to stop for police.
Teen thief stole cars and motorbikes in four-week crime spree
A teen thief has been locked up after brazenly stealing four cars and motorbikes from owner's homes in a month-long crime spree. Kamil Kowalski, 19, appeared before Manchester Minshull Street Court charged with nine different offences including theft, burglary, and attempted burglary.
Prosecutor Brian Berlyne said Kowalski's offending started on November 5, 2020, when he stole a transit van. The offending continued to December 9 and 10 where he first stole a Suzuki motorcycle from a garage in Haughton Green before entering a garage attached to a house in Mottram, grabbing a bicycle.
Mr Berlyne expressed frustrations to Judge John Potter that these charges had not been brought earlier, when Kowalski and another defendant, were before Manchester Crown Court in November last year for their roles in the gang who were on an 'expedition' looking for cars to steal and sell on.
Restaurant owner Mohammed Islam, 53, was killed after being hit by his own car as it was stolen, while he made a food delivery to a house in Romiley, Stockport. Kowalski was handed a suspended sentence during this case. Howard Bernstein, defending, proposed sparing Kowalski jail, instead handing him another suspended sentence. Kowalski had been in custody since November of last year while waiting for this hearing.
Judge Potter handed Kowalski, of Grange Road South, Hyde, a 40-month sentence at a young offenders institution and ordered to pay £190 as a victim surcharge fee.
Man who helped transport 'high purity' cocaine
A trio of men who brought 'high purity' cocaine to the streets have been handed more than a decade of jailtime between them.
Stephen Sumner, Nicholas Waine and Simon Shaw transported roughly £40,000 worth of class A drugs into Fleetwood, Lancashire, from Greater Manchester last autumn when they were arrested. The police investigation - named Operation Bergen - kept the criminals under surveillance.
Eventually, the three men were caught after their van was stopped on the M61 near Rivington. Cops recovered half a kilo of high purity cocaine and took out of circulation, LancsLive reports.
Sumner, 37, of Poulton Road, Fleetwood and Waine, 36, of Norwood Avenue, Sale, Manchester pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Supply Cocaine. Shaw, 44, of Normoss Road, Blackpool admitted Possession with Intent to Supply Cocaine.
They were all jailed at Preston Crown Court this week. Sumner was sentenced to three years and eight months; Waine received a term of four years and four months and Shaw was jailed for two years and eight months.
'Dangerous' robber in false beard who sprayed Post Office staff with ammonia
A 'dangerous' robber sprayed ammonia at Post Office workers in a terrifying raid. CCTV footage shows Daniel Burtak - who was wearing a false beard to conceal his identity - vaulting over a security screen and counter.
Burtak and getaway driver Colin Naylor, both from Bolton, were locked up for 12 years each. Burtak sprayed ammonia from a washing-up liquid bottle at the members of staff before escaping from the branch on Abbey Street in Accrington, Lancashire, on a bicycle, police said.
Burtak, 35, of Settle Street, Little Lever, Bolton, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery and three counts of administering a noxious substance. He was sentenced to 12 years, with a three-year extended licence period after being deemed to be a 'dangerous offender'. Naylor, 51, of Raikes Way, Darcy Lever, Bolton, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery. He, too, was jailed for 12 years.
Teenager waited outside mosque to stab man in 'extremely violent' broad daylight attack
A teenager who travelled to Sheffield to ambush and repeatedly stab a man outside a mosque has been jailed. Mohamed Shabaz, from Oldham, has been locked up for 21 years for attempted murder.
The 19-year-old travelled from Greater Manchester in a stolen car. He then attacked the man from behind in a brutal assault.
Shabaz slashed the victim with a large kitchen knife before fleeing the scene leaving him for dead, the court heard. The man received life-threatening injuries and spent a number of weeks in hospital recovering from the assault.
Detectives were able to identify Shabaz, of Manchester Road, Oldham, as the perpetrator of the attack following extensive CCTV and forensic examinations. He was arrested and later charged with attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
Despite denying the offence throughout, he was found guilty of both charges at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, May 27, and sentenced to 21 years. When passing sentence, the Judge said when Shabaz gave his evidence, it amounted to “a confection of falsehoods you peddled in the box” that the jury saw through.
Three jailed for murdering teenager Rhamero West who was chased and stabbed to death
Three people have been jailed for murdering teenager Rhamero West who was chased by a 'pack of wolves' until he was stabbed to death in Old Trafford.
Ryan Cashin, 19, Giovanni Lawrence, 20 were jailed to life to serve a minimum of 24 and 21 years and respectively. Marquis Richards, 17, was sentenced to the youth equivalent of life and locked up for at least 18 years.
Rhamero was driving a stolen BMW and was with friends when he was spotted on the Princess Parkway at rush hour at about 6pm on September 9 last year.
ichards got out of one of the two stolen BMWs while Rhamero's car was stationary in traffic, and started attacking the car with a 'large knife'. Rhamero desperately tried to get away, driving too fast and crashing into another car and ploughing into a tree.
Richards chased Rhamero while armed with a knife, and Cashin joined the foot chase. Cashin took the weapon from Richards before stabbing Rhamero to the legs in a front garden on Norton Street.
Lawrence, a driver of one of two stolen BMWs which had pursued Rhamero, was also convicted of murder under the joint enterprise law.
Cashin, of of Nancy Street, Manchester; Richards, of Anne Nuttall Road, Hulme; and Lawrence, of Colgrove Avenue, Manchester, were all found guilty of murder after a trial.
A motive for the brutal killing of Rhamero, a nephew of ex-Man City and England international Shaun Wright-Phillips, was not put forward by prosecutors.
