Bournemouth Crown Court Sentencing Results

On September 7, 2023, at around 6.15pm, Benjamin Charles Foster, aged 35 and driving a red Ford Transit minibus, was involved in a crash on the A30 Sherborne Road at Purse Caundle near Sherborne. He crossed into a filter lane as if to turn right before continuing onward towards oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with a red Toyota Yaris. A red Volkswagen Polo, travelling behind the Yaris, then collided with the rear of the Yaris. A man in his 60s was taken to hospital by air ambulance with serious injuries. A man and a woman, both in their late teens, were also taken to hospital with serious injuries. A road closure was implemented to allow emergency services to respond.

41-year-old Darryl John Cornish attacked a woman at an address in Upton on August 29, 2024. During the attack, Cornish strangled the woman, threw her to the ground, pushed her down the stairs, and threw her belongings. The victim fled the address having sustained injuries to her arms, hands, back and neck. Following an investigation involving door-to-door enquiries, statements and mobile phone footage, Cornish was charged and convicted of non-fatal strangulation and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Luke Yarwood, 36, from Burton near Christchurch, made a series of anti-Muslim and anti-immigration social media posts from December 21, 2024, to January 29, 2025, following the Christmas market car attack in Magdeburg, Germany, on December 20, 2024, which killed six and injured 338. Responding to false claims that the attacker was an Islamic extremist, Yarwood posted calls to 'head for the hotels housing them and burn them to the ground' and urged British people to 'gang together and start the slaughter', beginning with burning migrant hotels then targeting MPs' houses and Parliament. The posts targeted high-profile migrant hotels in Bournemouth, Dorset, near his home, and had potential to trigger disorder amid national tensions around asylum seekers.

Adam Harris, of St Leonards and St Ives, was arrested on Sunday, January 10, 2021, in Cumbria following information received by police. Officers searched storage containers controlled by the defendant on land at Throop Mill, Bournemouth, and seized several firearms, including a Smith & Weston 44 Magnum revolver, two Glock pistols and a Beretta Tomcat-32 pistol. In total, six rifles were assembled from disassembled parts including a Winchester Savage bolt-action rifle, a Remington Ruger semi-automatic rifle, a Ruger Long semi-automatic rifle and a Nagant bolt-action rifle. A crossbow, a Cobra stun-gun, further disassembled gun parts and multiple rounds of ammunition were also located.

On Tuesday, February 21 2023, at around 12.50pm, two men purporting to be police officers forced their way into an address in the Sandbanks area of Poole and tied up the lone female occupant. They demanded to know the whereabouts of jewellery, with one of the men pressing what appeared to be a gun up against the victim’s thigh. A short while later, another female arrived home and was dragged inside and also threatened with a firearm. Both victims were assaulted and threats were made to cause them serious harm before both were shut within the bathroom of the property. The men then made off with a quantity of jewellery and the victims’ mobile phones. Langton was arrested with Fulton at a hotel next to London Heathrow Airport on Sunday, May 14 2023.

Joshua Mitchell Savory, aged 28 and of Weymouth, assaulted a man in the area of Caroline Place in the town centre during the early hours of Sunday, September 29, 2024. He used a knife to slash the victim across the left side of his face, resulting in an 11-inch cut. The victim, a man in his 30s from Bournemouth, required hospital treatment and has been left with a permanent scar. Savory was identified and arrested following an investigation that included CCTV footage and forensic evidence linking a seized knife and T-shirt to the incident.

Ian Vetier participated in a far-right protest in Weymouth on August 4, 2024, where he played a prominent role in a group of around 30 males causing public disorder. He was shirtless, holding a Union Jack flag, and was seen shouting aggressively at police officers, including racist remarks such as 'Who the f*** is Allah?' and other abusive language. He attempted to push past a police cordon and later confronted officers taking photos of his car. His wife tried to coax him away, but he remained involved, contributing to a frightening atmosphere that threatened violence, though he did not physically assault anyone.

On April 4, 2024, a police officer stopped a vehicle driven by Andre Willis. As the officer approached, Willis released his dog from its lead. The dog, described as a Staffordshire bull terrier, attacked the officer, biting his legs and arm, causing significant injuries including deep puncture wounds. The officer was knocked to the floor, used his taser multiple times to subdue the dog, and required hospital treatment and surgery.

On the morning of Sunday, December 3, 2023, Lennox Blackwood attended the address of a woman known to him in Christchurch and gave her a shoebox containing a pair of trainers, which he asked her to look after. The woman later found a short-barrelled revolver and bullets inside the box and contacted police. Blackwood was arrested at his home in Wiltshire. After a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court he was convicted and sentenced on 30 July 2024.

On 4 October 2023, Jessica Berry drove a red Vauxhall Corsa while over the legal limit for alcohol (72 micrograms per 100ml breath) and cannabis (7 micrograms per litre of blood). She collided with the cyclist on the B3078 Julians Road in Wimborne, causing the cyclist's death at the scene. She failed to stop and was later located in Corfe Mullen. She also admitted failing to stop after a collision and driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

Maximillian Muskath, 26, from Harcourt Road in London, groomed a Dorset teenager on Discord for months, sharing sexual fantasies and inappropriate images despite knowing the child was underage and vulnerable. He convinced the child to throw away their phone and abducted them, harbouring them in his mother's home. The child was found in pain and distress, with Muskath's DNA on their pyjamas, and police discovered indecent images on his devices dating back to 2017. The child's mother described the devastating impact, noting the child had lost faith in people and become a shell of themselves.

On June 15, 2023, near the Ashley Heath Roundabout on the A338, Dannie Thomas O’Leary was driving a Mercedes AMG at speeds in excess of 80mph while appearing to race with another vehicle. The vehicles undertook traffic and swerved between lanes. As they approached a Nissan Micra, the Mercedes swerved to undertake it while the other vehicle collided with the Nissan, causing it to lose control. This resulted in the death of the passenger and serious injuries to two others. O’Leary did not stop and drove off. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and two offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

William Hosking, 22, cruelly abused and permanently disfigured a 13-year-old girl over a significant period. He inflicted physical injuries including slapping, punching, dragging, causing bleeding and cuts that left permanent scarring. He engaged in sexual activity with the victim and was described as possessive. Officers found ceremonial knives, masks, and items suggesting a fascination with perverted sex at his property. When arrested, he was armed with a knife.

Hemin Ali Salih, formerly of Gorton, was part of an organised crime group smuggling migrants into the UK in the back of refrigerated HGVs through Portsmouth port. He absconded before the four-week trial in March 2023.

Stephen Sheppard was driving near Wool, Dorset, on 5 July 2020, when he collided with a caravan being towed by a Land Rover and then crashed head-on into a Ford Fiesta carrying the victim, his wife, and their six-month-old baby daughter. This resulted in the victim's death at the scene and injuries to four others. Expert reports suggested Sheppard fell asleep at the wheel due to untreated sleep apnoea.

Asa Davison attacked his girlfriend, who was seven months pregnant, on multiple occasions. On May 29, 2020, in Gillingham, he followed her to a block of flats and assaulted her, causing swelling to her forehead, bruising to her upper arms, a fracture to her eye socket, fractures to her nasal bone, and bruising to her abdomen in the shape of a fist, which resulted in the death of her unborn child. He had previously shown resentment towards her pregnancy and continued to assault her in September 2020. He also perverted the course of justice by encouraging her to make a false statement from prison. Davison had a history of violence towards previous partners, including kicking one in the stomach while pregnant and breaking the eye sockets of two ex-partners.

Timothy Brian Lovegrove made 24 Category A, 17 Category B, and 2,194 Category C indecent images of children at Evershot over a 17-year period between April 10, 2004, and June 24, 2021. He also possessed 27 extreme pornographic images depicting, in an explicit and realistic way, a person performing an act of intercourse with a live animal during the same period.

Ian Clowes used a large butane gas cylinder to cause an explosion in his marital home, which had been converted into separate flats, on October 22, 2018. The explosion caused catastrophic damage and endangered the life of his estranged wife, the victim, who escaped uninjured. Clowes himself sustained serious injuries.