Birmingham Magistrates' Court Sentencing Results

Russell Bond, a former primary school headteacher, admitted possession of indecent photographs of children, including a category B moving image of a child. The offence came to light after police searched his home in Walsall on October 22, 2025, seized an Apple iPhone, and later analysis of the device revealed an indecent image of a child. He pleaded guilty on August 6 and was sentenced on October 16.

Mohamed Alawi Sherif was a director of Al Uruba Restaurant on Stratford Road, Birmingham. In June last year council environmental health officers found widespread mouse droppings throughout the premises, including on shelves, food containers, floors behind equipment and in customer seating areas, as well as a dead mouse in the kitchen. A damaged side wall allowed pests to enter. There was a lack of effective cleaning, a failure to ensure good food hygiene practices and no satisfactory daily pest control monitoring. The court heard the restaurant had been affected by a car crashing into the building on January 3 2025 and that the couple had difficult family issues. Improvements were later made and the restaurant received a food hygiene rating of 5 in July before the company went into voluntary liquidation.

Keron Chambers admitted driving to Ward End Park Road on April 2 2025 and dumping one black bin bag from a Mercedes without the necessary permit during the Birmingham bin strikes. He said he had checked online and believed the road was a collection point with a collection later that day. Birmingham City Council received a complaint and issued a fixed penalty notice, which was not paid. The court imposed a community order requiring 40 hours of unpaid work and a £114 surcharge.

Sihaam Sherif was a director of Al Uruba Restaurant on Stratford Road, Birmingham. In June last year council environmental health officers found widespread mouse droppings throughout the premises, including on shelves, food containers, floors behind equipment and in customer seating areas, as well as a dead mouse in the kitchen. A damaged side wall allowed pests to enter. There was a lack of effective cleaning, a failure to ensure good food hygiene practices and no satisfactory daily pest control monitoring. The court heard the restaurant had been affected by a car crashing into the building on January 3 2025 and that the couple had difficult family issues. Improvements were later made and the restaurant received a food hygiene rating of 5 in July before the company went into voluntary liquidation.

Mohammed Ahmed, 28, a trainee family solicitor, added a female client on social media, initially claiming he had done so accidentally. He went on to send her explicit messages and an unsolicited explicit image of himself. The woman, who had been receiving his professional help in connection with court proceedings, reported him to West Midlands Police. He was charged with sending an unsolicited explicit image with intent to cause alarm, distress or humiliation and admitted the offence.

Leo Robert Chandler kept four adult dogs and four puppies in a cluttered, dirty home. RSPCA officers found the floor covered with faeces and urine. A Cane Corso cross was kept in the kitchen with the door tied shut with a lead tied around a radiator and was underweight and suffering fur loss. A one-year-old bullbreed was found locked in the bathroom, and puppies were kept in a bedroom with no food or water and piles of faeces. A collie had earlier been taken to vets with serious injuries after being attacked by another dog. Chandler admitted three Animal Welfare Act offences.

Chloe Samantha Claire Dyke kept four adult dogs and four puppies in a cluttered, dirty home. RSPCA officers found faeces and urine on the floor, dogs underweight with untreated flea and skin conditions, a dog locked in the bathroom, and puppies kept in a bedroom with no food or water. In mitigation, the court heard Dyke suffered with her mental health and was sorry, agreeing the conditions were unacceptable. Dyke admitted three Animal Welfare Act offences.

Balbir Mahay, 57, from Leslie Road, Handsworth, was arrested over an unrelated incident on November 6, 2025. Police searched his property and discovered a samurai sword propped against a wall near his bedroom window. He bought the sword from Bescot Market in Walsall around 25 years ago and claimed he didn't know it was banned. The weapon had never left his home.

On March 8, 2026, Martin Beech, a 61-year-old from Birmingham, drove a Jaecoo 7 onto the wrong side of Harborne Lane, a dual carriageway. He claimed to police that he had consumed two pints of Carling. Breathalysed at the roadside, he recorded 43 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

Ian Alexander Yarnold and Doreen Elizabeth Yarnold failed to provide adequate care for their dogs Sandy and Isabel, resulting in severe untreated skin and eye diseases, as well as rotten teeth. The dogs were found in a home smelling of ammonia with a heavy fly infestation. Sandy was hairless with thick, cracked skin covered in sores and gunked-up eyes, while Isabel had eyes glued shut with green discharge, hairless scaly skin with weeping sores, and was blind due to chronic ocular disease. Both dogs were euthanised due to the severity of their conditions. The couple also owned 10 cats, six kittens, two turtles, a parrot, and fish, which were signed over to the RSPCA for rehoming.

Doreen Elizabeth Yarnold and Ian Alexander Yarnold failed to provide adequate care for their dogs Sandy and Isabel, resulting in severe untreated skin and eye diseases, as well as rotten teeth. The dogs were found in a home smelling of ammonia with a heavy fly infestation. Sandy was hairless with thick, cracked skin covered in sores and gunked-up eyes, while Isabel had eyes glued shut with green discharge, hairless scaly skin with weeping sores, and was blind due to chronic ocular disease. Both dogs were euthanised due to the severity of their conditions. The couple also owned 10 cats, six kittens, two turtles, a parrot, and fish, which were signed over to the RSPCA for rehoming.

Kieran Brookes, 32, was spotted by neighbourhood officers at Princess Alice Retail Park in Sutton Coldfield on Sunday, March 1, 2026, despite being banned due to previous offending. He fled from police when asked to move on and was arrested after attempting to jump a fence and landing on a shopping trolley. He was charged with two counts of shop theft and three counts of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order.

The victim was loading a tube polishing machine at FMP West Midlands Limited in Oldbury on July 8, 2024, when faulty rollers required him to lean over and straighten metal tubes. His left hand became entangled in the machine’s unguarded cogs and chains, severing his left ring finger to the first knuckle, crushing his middle finger requiring a metal rod insertion, and crushing his index finger needing multiple surgeries. He has undergone eight surgeries, requires further operations, and has been unable to return to work. An HSE investigation found the company failed to prevent access to rotating cogs and chains.

Jessica Hunt, aged 33, and her partner concealed a bulldog with a dreadful body score when the RSPCA came knocking, leading to a ban from keeping dogs.

Jonathan Rounds, aged 35, and his partner Jessica Hunt concealed a bulldog with a dreadful body score when the RSPCA came knocking, leading to a ban from keeping dogs.

Kevin Castle and Julie Lugg failed to provide adequate nutrition, parasitic control, and treatment for eye infections to a dog named Chase and three five-week-old kittens between November 14 and December 5, 2024. Chase was severely underweight with visible ribs and spine, fur loss, and scabs from fleas. The kittens were underweight, suffering from flu, flea infestation, and severe eye discharge. The animals were rescued by the RSPCA and treated at their Birmingham animal hospital, gaining significant weight and recovering without underlying health issues.

Kevin Castle and Julie Lugg failed to provide adequate nutrition, parasitic control, and treatment for eye infections to a dog named Chase and three five-week-old kittens between November 14 and December 5, 2024. Chase was severely underweight with visible ribs and spine, fur loss, and scabs from fleas. The kittens were underweight, suffering from flu, flea infestation, and severe eye discharge. The animals were rescued by the RSPCA and treated at their Birmingham animal hospital, gaining significant weight and recovering without underlying health issues.

Courtney Reanne Martin left her three dogs unattended in a filthy house in Wolverhampton when she moved out. Two dogs were found dead; one emaciated with bruising and puncture wounds on its head and neck, likely from dog bites, and the other emaciated with an undetermined exact cause due to decomposition. The third dog was alive but in poor conditions. The dogs suffered from prolonged lack of food, water, and proper care, resulting in unnecessary suffering over an extended period.

Faisal Mahmood was filmed street racing in his BMW at high speed on Fort Parkway, Castle Bromwich on May 4, breaching a High Court injunction against street racing. Shortly before 12.30am, traffic officers in an unmarked police car saw his car at traffic lights at Spitfire Island alongside other vehicles; when the lights changed, vehicles in lanes two and three accelerated hard and raced while spectators watched. He was arrested after crashing into a parked car and later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

Thomas Nicholas Powell, aged 61, from Rochester Road, Northfield, neglected his German Shepherd dog Sadie, who was found straying in the Northfield area. Sadie was underweight, had a stiff gait, muscle atrophy, a large 15cm ulcerated mammary mass diagnosed as stage 3 mammary carcinoma, and spinal spondylosis causing pain. She had been in pain and discomfort for more than four weeks due to deprivation of basic needs. The offence occurred between December 31, 2024, and February 11, 2025.

CCTV captured Gleeson throwing takeaway wrappers from her SEAT Ibiza, illegally depositing litter on High Street, Pelsall, Walsall, on August 27, 2025.

Tyrese Wright was found in possession of a folding pocket knife during a police search in Birmingham city centre on May 8. He admitted the blade was his and cooperated fully with officers. The blade was never brandished and Wright had no previous convictions.

Wasim Riaz was stopped by police on 17 July 2025 while driving a blue Audi in Birmingham. The vehicle was registered to his then ex-partner and there were no other named drivers; he did not have an appropriate driving licence or third-party insurance. A search found a knuckle duster in his pocket and knives in a bag in the car, including a flick knife and a locking blade. He admitted taking the vehicle without the owner's consent. The vehicle was a Motability vehicle because the owner is a carer for her son with additional needs. Riaz pleaded guilty on the day of trial in June. He was sentenced for six offences including possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, two counts of possessing a knife blade or sharp pointed article in a public place, driving without insurance, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and driving a motor vehicle taken without the owner's consent. The court ordered forfeiture and destruction of the seized weapons.

Steve Coogan was behind the wheel of a Range Rover caught speeding at 97mph on the M6 northbound just before Junction 12 for Telford, shortly before midnight on July 29, 2024.

Nuneaton shopkeeper Daminda Heradh, 49, chased a youth with a sword after enduring weeks of harassment. He admitted possessing a sword and received an eight-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

Kamil Al Fatah sold counterfeit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco from Knightsbridge Convenience Store in Olton. West Midlands Police and Solihull Trading Standards investigated following an undercover purchase of a test packet of Marlborough cigarettes below retail price in 2015. A search found over 1,000 non-duty paid cigarettes and a large quantity of hand rolling tobacco hidden inside speakers, the cash till casing, and a hollow fire extinguisher.

Kamran Shinwari sold a vape to a 15-year-old test purchaser at Mushy's convenience store in Fairfax Road, Birmingham, on 29 October 2025 without asking for proof of age. The purchaser was taking part in a trading standards test purchase exercise. Shinwari admitted the offence and told magistrates he had made a mistake and it would not happen again.

Karl Lee, 26, of no fixed address, obstructed trains at Solihull station for more than five hours on September 5 and 7, 2016, by standing by the line and on a bridge, threatening to harm himself, delaying passengers on 38 services and costing the rail industry more than £12,000.

An inmate at HMP Long Lartin used an unauthorised mobile phone to communicate with a prison custody officer over a six-month period between July 2022 and January 2023. The phone was discovered in October 2022 after being thrown from a prison window. Nunes was convicted of transmitting or causing the transmission of an image or sound from a prison without authority and possessing a mobile phone inside a prison without authority.

In February 2025, Williams was driving to work when he collided with a wall on Deansway in Worcester, causing substantial damage that took three months to repair. Officers found him over the legal alcohol limit; he was arrested and charged with drink driving.

Lisa Marie Riddell neglected two dogs in her care. A Labrador-cross dog entrusted to her by its owners was found dead on a narrowboat at Sutton Stop, Coventry, on 15 September 2025, weighing 19.4kg with a body condition score of 1/9; death was attributed to starvation. Her own approximately two-year-old Staffie-type dog was discovered in a disused toilet block, severely underweight at 17kg with a body condition score of 2/9, covered in faeces and extremely fearful. The surviving dog was assessed as too distressed to rehome and was later euthanised.

Sean Kerr operated a puppy farm on Coventry Road, Bickenhill, where puppies were bred and sold to unsuspecting buyers, many of whom died shortly after purchase. Dogs were kept in cold, dark, filthy conditions in sheds and stables on wooden pallets with sawdust and no bedding. Four dogs, including three pregnant ones, were locked in a room in complete darkness. A dead puppy was found in a plastic carrier bag in a van. Instructions on a whiteboard included 'Keep puppies quiet, do not let them bark. Squirt them or use whip to crack in yard.' One dog had an untreated dislocated hip, another a painful skin condition, and some puppies were born with deformities. RSPCA removed 37 dogs and puppies in December 2015 following complaints.

Muhammad Shuaib was driving a Nissan Qashqai on the morning of 10 December 2022 in Birmingham at between 29mph and 31mph in a 30mph limit when he collided with a woman who was crossing the road. CCTV showed the victim was over halfway across the road when she was hit. She was taken to hospital and died from her injuries the next day. Shuaib said low winter sun and frost caused glare, and he braked but could not avoid the collision. Police found no mechanical defects and he tested negative for alcohol and drugs.