Bristol Crown Court Sentencing Results

Zak Goldsmith, 19, from Knowle, was one of four defendants involved in deliberately crashing a stolen black Mini Cooper into a 19-year-old bike rider at the junction of Mowcroft Road and Hareclive Road, Bristol, on 29 May 2023, around 5.30pm, causing the victim a fractured skull and bleed on the brain. Mobile footage from one of the phones proved the collision was intentional. There was an earlier deliberate collision that day with the same vehicle injuring two other teenagers, though Goldsmith was not involved in that incident. The Mini was used as a weapon in cold blood.

Hakan Barac, a 29-year-old man from the Newport area of Gwent, was sentenced following a lengthy and complex investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing Wales. He clearly expressed his support for the Islamic State and espoused abhorrent rhetoric, posing a danger to the public.

Paul O’Shea assisted the conspiracy from outside the prison by providing Langdown with prohibited items such as drugs, mobile phones, and SIM cards to smuggle into HMP Guys Marsh, and by collecting payments from associates of inmates. On nine occasions between January and August 2023, he met Langdown in Dorset and Wiltshire to hand over items or money. Financial enquiries showed over £60,000 paid into his bank account from inmate associates. A search of his home on 26 September 2023 found a protein powder tub containing thousands of Pregabalin capsules, 22 smartphones, 20 SIM cards, 20 charging cables, and a 4G router, valued at £90,000 to £190,000 in prison.

On 9 June 2024 at about 8.40pm, Billy Lane, Kyle Nutley, and Nathan Smith attacked the victim in Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, after an argument. Lane hit the victim before repeatedly kicking him while he was on the floor, where Nutley and Smith stabbed him. The victim suffered a collapsed lung and multiple other injuries, received treatment in hospital, and has since been released home. First aid was given by attending officers, and the three men were arrested less than an hour later and charged.

Israel Baber, 37, set a sofa on fire in the stairwell of Eccleston House, a block of flats in Barton Hill, Bristol, just after 6am on 20 October 2022. CCTV and doorbell camera footage showed him moving around the building at the time. He falsely claimed to be in his flat, but a reconstruction proved otherwise. The prosecution demonstrated the offender matched his height, build, and clothing. The fire spread quickly, evacuating all residents, with one rescued by fire services. Six people were treated for smoke inhalation, but no serious injuries occurred. Residents were re-housed by Bristol City Council, with damage estimated at over £600,000.

On 9 June 2024 at about 8.40pm, Billy Lane, Kyle Nutley, and Nathan Smith attacked the victim in Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, after an argument. Lane hit the victim before repeatedly kicking him while he was on the floor, where Nutley and Smith stabbed him. The victim suffered a collapsed lung and multiple other injuries, received treatment in hospital, and has since been released home. First aid was given by attending officers, and the three men were arrested less than an hour later and charged.

On 9 June 2024 at about 8.40pm, Billy Lane, Kyle Nutley, and Nathan Smith attacked the victim in Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, after an argument. Lane hit the victim before repeatedly kicking him while he was on the floor, where Nutley and Smith stabbed him. The victim suffered a collapsed lung and multiple other injuries, received treatment in hospital, and has since been released home. First aid was given by attending officers, and the three men were arrested less than an hour later and charged.

In June 2023, Matthew McKenzie, aged 47 from Totterdown in Bristol, stayed overnight at an address in Bristol where he sexually touched an eight-year-old girl and carried out sexual acts with her for his own gratification. The child immediately informed her mother, leading to police involvement and McKenzie's arrest within hours.

Hamza Mahmoud, along with Faisal Uriakhail and Zaeden Perkins, stabbed a man in a frenzied and sustained three-on-one attack in broad daylight just before 3.30pm on February 18, 2023, in a park between Baldwin Road and Monmouth Road, Halcon, Taunton. The victim's injuries were not life-threatening. Police and ambulance crews attended the scene in the residential area.

Faisal Uriakhail, along with Hamza Mahmoud and Zaeden Perkins, stabbed a man in a frenzied and sustained three-on-one attack in broad daylight just before 3.30pm on February 18, 2023, in a park between Baldwin Road and Monmouth Road, Halcon, Taunton. The victim's injuries were not life-threatening. Police and ambulance crews attended the scene in the residential area.

Zaeden Perkins, along with Hamza Mahmoud and Faisal Uriakhail, stabbed a man in a frenzied and sustained three-on-one attack in broad daylight just before 3.30pm on February 18, 2023, in a park between Baldwin Road and Monmouth Road, Halcon, Taunton. The victim's injuries were not life-threatening. Police and ambulance crews attended the scene in the residential area.

Following intelligence that indecent images were being accessed at his home in Weston-super-Mare, police searched Martin Schwarz's address and seized 11 phones and external hard drives containing a total of 542,904 indecent images of children. The 65-year-old was arrested and investigated by the Internet Child Abuse Team.

Grant Wedlake, 32, from Felton, committed sex offences against women, girls, and boys starting from 2005. He was found guilty of 12 offences, including sexual assault of a child under 13, rape of a child under 13, and rape. His offending left victims feeling guilty and ashamed, with one victim stating it ruined their childhood and life, while another hoped he would use his time in prison for self-improvement and education about the impact on victims.

Dominic Smith and Ellie-Mae Maddocks harboured Kodishai Wescott and one of the other murderers at their address overnight on Sunday 28 January 2024, following the murders of the victims in Knowle, Bristol, on 27 January 2024. Together, they then drove them to Weston-super-Mare in an attempt to further hide them from the police.

Kristen Persen, 22, from Fairwater in Cardiff, was arrested at an address in Cardiff on 30 November 2022 following a joint investigation between the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit and Counter Terrorism Policing Wales. On his laptop, detectives found instructional books and manuals for the manufacture of firearms, explosives and detonators as well as white supremacist propaganda. Material was also found glorifying proscribed extreme right-wing banned organisations relating to Nazism, racism, anti-Semitism ideology. Also found at his address was a large amount of clothing, flags and stickers illustrating and supporting right wing views.

Harry Hollowell purchased farm machinery stolen from farm burglaries in the Sedgemoor area of West Somerset throughout 2020. On October 16, 2020, police searched a farm in South Barrow near Sparkford and seized 20 stolen machines, with more recovered later. He also, with another defendant, bought and sold stolen plant equipment from building sites in Cardiff in 2020. Over 20 stolen items of valuable farm machinery were recovered by police.

Toyan Young, 31, caused a disturbance at Turbo Island on Stokes Croft in May 2022 while subject to a suspended sentence for robbery. He threatened a police officer responding to an assault report, appeared under the influence of drugs or alcohol, behaved aggressively in a shop and walked towards the officer. He was arrested and pleaded guilty.

Joe Hatherall, 32, formerly of Emersons Green, South Gloucestershire, was the leader of the OCG supplying cocaine and heroin across the South West. Released from prison in January 2022 after serving half of a nine-year sentence for conspiracy to supply cannabis, he immediately resumed organising drug movements. Arrested in November 2022, the investigation seized 10 kilos of cocaine, 4 kilos of heroin, approximately £80,000 in cash from associates, and his cryptocurrency holdings.

Mohammed Shazad Salim participated in an organised crime group involved in a drug supply line targeting Weston-super-Mare, which dealt in Class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine. The group was uncovered in March 2021 when officers raided a property and found drugs, cash, and paraphernalia. Further investigations revealed a network supplying drugs in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, and Yeovil, with seizures including heroin, crack cocaine worth about £7,000, cash, knives, and mobile phones.

Wayne Braund, owner of the former Strachan and Henshaw building in Foundry Lane, Bristol, failed to comply with fire safety regulations, leading to two fires damaging the property. The first fire occurred on 31st December 2018 in the tower block known as The Office, where people were living, and fortunately no one was harmed. A second fire six months later caused significant structural damage. The building had housed over 40 small and independent businesses, and the adjacent tower was notorious for a swingers' club, cannabis factory, and as a Hells Angels' haunt.

George Edward James Haldenby was sentenced for three counts of arson, having pled guilty, though specific details of the incidents are not provided in the text.