A 'dangerous' thug who left a man with 'significant facial injuries' and stole his mobile phone was among the criminals jailed in Greater Manchester this week.
It comes as a woman who lured a friend to her house before he was beaten and robbed by her knife-wielding ex-boyfriend was also put behind bars. A drug dealer who was discovered with cocaine, 150 pills and wads of cash in a Salford hotel room was also jailed for offences in our region.
Prison sentences are handed out to the worst offenders each week and Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases.
Read more: Man tried to sell the house he was renting in 'almost unbelievable' crime
Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week...
'Very dangerous' thug left man with 'significant' facial injuries in 'prolonged' early hours attack
A 'very dangerous' thug left a man with 'significant facial injuries' and stole his mobile phone. Ibiso Bobmanuel, of Caernarvon Close, Greenmount, approached the victim in the early hours of Tuesday, April 5.
The man had been walking through Bury town centre by himself and was on a break from work when he was attacked. Bobmanuel, who has previous convictions for violent robberies, then assaulted him in a 'prolonged attack', causing 'significant facial injuries', before stealing his phone.
Following a police investigation, the 37-year-old was sentenced by a judge to seven years and eight months in prison for robbery.
PC McGreavy of the Bury Neighbourhood Crime Team said: “Bobmanuel is a very dangerous individual who has previous convictions for violent robberies. This sentence handed out by the judge is a good deterrent for any criminal believing they can violently attack members of the community who should be able to feel safe when visiting Bury town centre”.
Woman mows down blind man and leaves him for dead while speeding on the way home from chippy
A woman who mowed down a blind man and left him for dead in the road as she raced home with a fish and chip supper has been jailed. Charlene Bellis, 40, ploughed into Christopher Hollywood as he crossed the road with his golden Labrador guide dog Caesar, while showing off to her teenage daughter.
Mr Hollywood, 34, was sent flying in the air by the force of the impact and suffered serious injuries. Caesar escaped unharmed and stayed at the roadside with his master.
Bellis, a mum-of-three, initially stopped at the scene and got out of her red Ford Fiesta ST to say 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,' but she then jumped back in the car and sped off as passers-by tended to the victim. She was arrested later.
Inquiries revealed Bellis, of Leigh, had a history of drug driving and she admitted to regularly smoking cannabis. There is no suggestion she was under the influence at the time of the accident.
Mr Hollywood, was taken to Salford Royal Hospital A&E where a spinal injury expert found that he had fractured part of his vertebrae and three ribs, and would need surgery. After successful surgery, he was out of the hospital within eight days but remained in a plaster cast for the next six weeks.
At Bolton Crown Court, Bellis, of Irvine Street, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for a year and banned from driving for three years. The disqualification will start when she is freed in six months.
Woman lured pal to house before her ex-boyfriend beat and robbed him at knifepoint
A woman lured a pal to her house in the early hours before he was beaten and robbed by her knife-wielding ex-boyfriend. Sarah Marson, 30, invited the would-be victim to her home, speaking to him for around five to ten minutes in her bedroom.
Her ex Craig Parkinson and another man then came in. Marson left before the pair launched a brutal attack, swiping the man's phone and £180 in cash while threatening him with a blade.
Marson, from Dukinfield, Tameside has now admitted aiding and abetting robbery and was jailed for 22 months. Craig Parkinson, 35, was previously jailed for five years and three months for robbery and other separate matters.
Initially Marson failed to attend her case and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was arrested for breaching her bail in October this year and has been in custody ever since, the court heard.
She was said to have 23 previous convictions for 34 offences including for offences of attempted robbery and breach of court orders. Defending, David Thomson said his client had a difficult start in her childhood and that she had fallen ‘under the spell’ of Parkinson.
Marson, of Newton Terrace, was jailed for 22 months.
Dramatic footage captures police chase through Salford streets before van driver tackled by officers
Footage shows the dramatic moment police chased a disqualified and uninsured driver through the streets of Salford.
Officers chased van driver Christopher Porter, 33, for nearly 30 minutes after he failed to stop. Dramatic video released by the force shows the terrifying pursuit through city streets, before Porter was eventually arrested.
Porter, of Brindleheath Road, was jailed for two years at Manchester Crown Court on November 7 after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, possession of a knife, and failure to stop for police.
Police can be seen chasing and apprehending Porter after a lengthy chase through Salford streets. In the footage, Porter mounted the kerb on a residential street, and was captured swerving in and out of traffic and narrowly avoiding a head-on crash in an attempt to evade cops on September 10.
A police helicopter was scrambled, and the footage shows him trying to escape before officers tackle him. The pursuit was part of the Operation Naseby taskforce tackling organised crime in the city.
Drug dealer found in hotel bed with cocaine, pills and wads of cash stashed in drawers
A drug dealer was caught with cocaine, 150 pills and wads of cash in a Salford hotel room raid by anti-gang cops. Joshua Wood, 31, was found in bed by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers after a tip off he had been dealing drugs from his car and staying in a hotel in Worsley.
He was jailed for 42 months earlier this month at Manchester Crown Court after admitting eight drug offences and money laundering. Wood, of Marston Gardens, Ellesmere Port, initially claimed all the drugs were for personal use, but police analysis of the contents of his phone provided evidence that he was making money through the sale of drugs.
He was charged with possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis, possession with intent to supply class C drugs, possession of class A drugs including MDMA, possession of class C drugs, and money laundering.
He admitted all the offences in court. Wood was arrested as part of Operation Naseby, which has helped drive down shootings in the city of Salford by over 70 per cent since its launch in April 2020.
Vile rapist targeted lone woman on night out and carried out 'brutal' attack
A sex attacker befriended a woman before luring her to a secluded spot and raping her in a ‘brutal’ attack. Ablolom Okbazge, 27, met the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Wigan town centre in December last year.
She had been on a night out with friends, she told a trial at Bolton Crown Court earlier this year. Having viewed CCTV footage from the early hours of December 18, a judge ruled that she was ‘heavily inebriated’ and was ‘clearly particularly vulnerable’.
Okbazge, who was staying at the Britannia Hotel in Standish at the time, had also met friends for a drink in the town centre earlier that night and was spotted on CCTV hanging around when he came across the lone woman.
Okbazge then took the woman to a staircase at the back of a bar and raped her for over an hour. The court heard that he stopped the woman from leaving as she tried to get away from him during the attack.
Okbazge denied the offence of rape, but was found guilty by a jury following a trial. In a heart-wrenching statement read to the court, the victim said she constantly breaks down when she thinks about what happened to her - and that she initially blamed herself for what happened.
Defending, Gerald Baxter said his client, who originates from Eritrea, had met the woman and befriended her because she was ‘so clearly heavily intoxicated’. “He is a young man who, as far as we know, has no previous criminal record,” he said.
Okbazge, of no fixed abode, was jailed for nine years, of which he will serve two thirds of his sentence in prison before he will be liable for deportation.
Machete-wielding teen and his pal got into a brawl at JD Sports store packed with Christmas shoppers
A man has been jailed after getting into a fight in a JD Sports store full of Christmas shoppers - alongside his machete-wielding pal. Mark Rigg was in the queue to pay at the Manchester Fort branch, in Cheetham Hill, with his friend Rhys Jackson, when they were approached by another group of men.
A fight broke out between the two groups and Jackson, then aged 18, of Aldbourne Close, Collyhurst, pulled out a machete from his trousers. Rigg, then aged 19, of no fixed address, was seen on CCTV 'grappling and throwing punches', prosecution barrister James Preece told Manchester Crown Court. He was then escorted out of the shop by security.
Both men pleaded guilty to affray. Defending Rigg, Thomas Worsfold told the court that Rigg is currently serving a prison sentence for a separate offence and while in custody he has started a construction course. He is also expecting a child and 'hopes to be a better role model' upon his release.
At a sentencing hearing on Thursday (November 10) Rigg, now 21, was jailed for 24 weeks. Jackson, now 20, was not present at court and will be sentenced at a later date.
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