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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Tom Duffy

Notorious thug linked to scrambler gangs back behind bars again

A notorious thug who was previously linked to scrambler bike gangs has been jailed again for breaching an injunction.

John Paul Rea, 32, was jailed for four months following a hearing at Liverpool County Court last week. Police said that Rea had been jailed for breaching the terms of a gang injunction.

Rea, of Chelsea Road, Litherland, has a long been associated with anti-social behaviour and more serious crime. Rea has been subject to a number of wanted appeals by police over the years.

READ MORE: Stoned gun thug smashes stolen Range Rover through brick wall

Rea, linked to scrambler gangs in the area, was involved in a well publicised incident several years ago which was caught on CCTV. Rea was one of three scrambler yobs who tore up the grass turf on a roundabout at the junction of Sefton Road and Hawthorne Road.

One of the bikes then broke down and cameras captured Rea helping to push it through a nearby underpass. Andrew Ford, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court: “On December 1, 2015, members of the public in Bootle rang the police about three scrambler bikes being ridden aggressively and recklessly in Bootle.

"They were racing around the area, mounting the kerb and weaving in and out of traffic, and to use the colloquialism simply being razzed about."

Rea was jailed for 23 months at Liverpool Crown Court in July 2016 after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, handling stolen goods and possession of criminal property.

He was jailed for burglary and other offences in 2012 after spending two years evading police.

Police confirmed that Rea was now back behind bars for beaching the terms of a gang injunction following a court hearing on April 28. Police said the relevant breaches took place in April 2021.

Police forces apply to a civil court for a gang injunction, which normally restricts the behaviour of someone linked to gang related crime.

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