A loner who was bullied at school and went on to become a 'literal Nazi'; the 'Jekyll and Hyde' boyfriend who was 'kind and considerate' when sober, but abusive and controlling when he drank; and the 'sexual predator' with a 'clear and keen' interest in child abuse.
The dangerous sex pest who launched a terrifying stalking campaign against a McDonald's worker; the vile racist who left a man with life-changing brain injuries; and the thug who punched his girlfriend and drove her to the brink of suicide.
Jail sentences are handed out to some of the worst offenders each week and Manchester Evening News reporters have been in court to cover the most serious cases. Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week.
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Loner bullied at school went on to become 'literal Nazi'
A loner who was bullied at school posted vile racist hate online and downloaded two terrorist documents. Extremist Mason Yates, from Cheshire, described himself as a 'literal Nazi'.
He was first referred to the government's counter-extremism Prevent strategy when he was aged just 13. Now Yates, 19, has been jailed for 30 months.
Police found copies of '100 Deadly Skills', which provides instructions on knife attacks and making explosive devices, and the 'White Resistance Manual', giving directions on how to carry out 'mass murder' in advance of a 'race war', on his phone.
Yates developed an 'unsavoury obsession' with right wing politics, Manchester Crown Court heard. His lawyer said Yates, who also displayed an interest in the murderer behind mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, spent hours on his computer and became 'even more isolated' during the pandemic.
Yates' vile posts on the Telegram app were revealed after an undercover police officer posed as an extremist. Yates, then 17, was part of a Telegram channel featuring a network of like-minded young people with hateful views.
Read the full story here.
'Jekyll and Hyde' boyfriend was 'kind and considerate' when sober - but abusive and controlling when he drank
A controlling boyfriend used his partner’s credit cards, brandished a knife in front of her and got a key cut for her home without her knowing. Michael Ferguson, 41, has been jailed for his crimes, which spanned a two-year period.
Ferguson met his victim in 2018 when they were both in rehab, prosecution barrister Chloe Booth told Minshull Street Crown Court. As their relationship progressed, Ferguson’s girlfriend became ‘scared’ of him, particularly when he had been drinking alcohol.
In December 2020, Ferguson brandished a knife and made threats to kill, but his partner did not support a prosecution for that incident, Ms Booth said. Defence barrister Sacha Waxman told the court that although Ferguson had pulled a knife out, he had threatened to harm himself rather than his girlfriend.
Throughout their relationship, the court heard Ferguson made comments about his victim’s appearance that made her ‘upset’ and ‘uncomfortable. He also brought ‘another lady’ into her home.
In a victim personal statement, Ferguson’s victim stated that 'when he’s sober he’s nice', but that recently the 'bad outweighed the good. Judge Recorder Neil Usher jailed Ferguson for 16 months. He said: “I accept that when you were sober and not drinking you were a kind and considerate partner.
“The problem in your case is what happens when you drink. During the course of the relationship, when you were drinking, you abused her, you controlled her and were coercive.”
Read the full story here.
'Sexual predator', 37, with 'keen and clear interest' in child abuse
A 'sexual predator' said by police to have a 'keen and clear interest' in child sex abuse has been jailed. Steven Blake, 37, was locked up for 33 months - just under three years - following an investigation by a specialist Greater Manchester Police unit.
Blake, of Minor Street in Failsworth, Oldham, was convicted of making indecent photographs, or pseudo photographs, of children, possession of extreme pornographic images, possessing prohibited images of children and intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence, police said.
The Crown Prosecution Service said had been communicating on the Kik messaging app with an undercover police officer, which led to his arrest and his IT equipment being seized. Blake was jailed by a judge at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on Tuesday.
Police found indecent images on his camera and computer hard drive after in March, 2020, GMP said. The CPS confirmed that in total, 1,821 vile images were discovered, of which 777 were classed as being in the most serious of Category A.
Read the full story here.
Dangerous' sex pest launched terrifying stalking campaign against McDonald's worker
A 'dangerous' sex pest stalked a woman who worked at McDonald's and sexually assaulted a traumatised stranger on a bus. Soyab Mitha, 35, would turn up at a branch of the fast food restaurant up to four times per day and asked her to to accompany him to a hotel for sex.
She was left so 'disgusted' and 'horrifically uncomfortable' by Mitha's behaviour that she asked a colleague to escort her to her bus stop. To her 'horror' on one occasion Mitha was waiting on her bus after she boarded.
The woman quit her job in a desperate bid to get away from him. In a police interview, Mitha, from Bolton, described her as 'sexy personified'. While he was embarking on his stalking campaign, Mitha sexually assaulted a different woman on a bus in Bolton.
Mitha sat next to her and told her she was 'beautiful' and that she was his 'type', before saying: "The things I'd do to you." He touched her inappropriately and tried to move her hand so it would touch his genitals.
Her appalling ordeal lasted for about 20 minutes, before she was able to get off the bus. Now Mitha has been declared a 'dangerous' offender and jailed for four years.
Read the full story here.
Vile racist, 35, jailed after punching innocent man - leaving him with life-changing brain injuries
A vile racist has been jailed after punching an innocent man in an unprovoked attack and leaving him with life changing brain injuries. Adam Farrell, 35, was seen on CCTV ‘marching’ towards the man as he spoke to a friend before striking him to the face with such force that he fell backwards, unable to defend himself.
Farrell, who had earlier been kicked out of nightclub Coco’s, in Rochdale, began taking his belt off as if ‘readying for a fight’ before the police arrived. Once in the back of the police van he made a variety of ‘despicable’ racist statements including: “P**** went down like a sack of black s***” and “Yo little n**** go to sleep, hope he dies”, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
The man was quickly rushed to Salford Royal Hospital where he was placed in intensive care following swelling and bleeding to his brain. He has since made some recovery, but will be ‘significantly impaired’.
After pleading guilty to an offence of racially aggravated grievous bodily harm, Farrell, of Middleton Road, Heywood, was jailed for three years and four months. During a sentencing hearing, he told a judge: “I was really intoxicated. I didn’t mean it.”
Read the full story here.
Thug punched girlfriend in the face and drove her to the brink of suicide to 'escape the misery'
A jealous and controlling thug made his girlfriend's life a 'living hell' as he subjected her to a relentless 'cycle of torment'. Josef Conlon, 27, was previously hauled before the courts and narrowly avoided jail for domestic violence against a former partner.
But the brush with the law failed to change his ways and now he has been locked up. "This type of behaviour is part of a pattern for you," Judge Tina Landale said during a hearing at Minshull Street Crown Court.
"It seems as though you believe you are entitled to treat women with whom you are having a relationship with gross disrespect, try to control them and use violence against them." Conlon, from Bury, subjected the woman in her 20s to a continuing 'cycle of torment', including violence, intimidation and possessive behaviour.
He would 'interrogate' her and check her phone to see who she'd been in contact with, prosecutor Andrew Mackintosh said. Conlon smashed her phone after becoming angry at what he found.
Read the full story here.
Dealer locked up over Colombia to Manchester cocaine ring while others go 'scot free and spending the money'
A drug dealer involved in importing cocaine from Colombia as part of an international crime network has been locked up. Ian Cary, 49, was part of a gang which sourced the class As from the south American country, which has a notorious reputation for drugs cartels.
The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit said Cary was part of a plot to import drugs into the UK from Columbia via the postal service and UK ports. He has been jailed for almost a decade after his crimes were uncovered following the hacking of the EncroChat network, known as 'WhatsApp for criminals'.
Cary, from Blackley, was known on the shadowy platform by the handle 'Where are you'. He was jailed alongside another man, Matthew Record, 39, from Liverpool, who used the handle 'Ripesun' to contact other criminals to buy kilos of cocaine for cash.
"This case involves the serious commercial trade of class A controlled drugs between March and June 2020," Judge Alan Conrad QC said. "You Ian Cary were also involved in the importation of cocaine.
"The investigation showed you had both used encrypted telephones to carry out your parts in these offences, communicating in explicit terms about your offending, no doubt in the belief that you were safe from detection."
Record, of Pemburey Way, Halewood, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to supply a class A drug. Cary was jailed for nine years and nine months, while Record was sentenced to six years and nine months.
Read the full story here.
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