Chester Crown Court Sentencing Results

Mark Grant pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods. He was part of an organised network that stole plant machinery and vehicles worth about £750,000 across Surrey and the south-east, then sold them on using cloned vehicle identification numbers and false certificates.

Jonathan Price, a 35-year-old mechanic, was first arrested in December 2022 and found in possession of indecent images of children, extreme pornography, and cocaine. Bail conditions were imposed, but he continued to download and distribute sexual images of children and also downloaded extreme pornographic images. When officers went to arrest him again in August 2023, he tried to hide a mobile phone and resisted arrest. He was found intoxicated on cocaine. At interview, he claimed the phones belonged to friends and made bizarre claims about being threatened to hold devices for other paedophiles. Police evidence showed he had downloaded indecent images and had used the phones for personal purposes, including saving his own contacts. He also attempted to engage in sexual communication with children online. In total he was convicted of six counts of distributing indecent images of children, two counts of possession of extreme pornographic images depicting sex with animals, three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of attempting to communicate with children under 16 for sexual gratification, and two counts of possession of cocaine.

Kieran Mellor, along with Kenneth Stephenson and Nyle Smith, was involved in an altercation with two men outside a property on The Birches in Davenport Avenue, Crewe, on the evening of Sunday, April 19, 2020. They first arrived armed with knives and a wooden plank shortly after 8pm. They left and returned at 9.55pm with faces concealed and armed with a shotgun, which was fired at the 50-year-old man but missed and hit the house wall.

Kenneth Stephenson, along with Kieran Mellor and Nyle Smith, was involved in an altercation with two men outside a property on The Birches in Davenport Avenue, Crewe, on the evening of Sunday, April 19, 2020. They first arrived armed with knives and a wooden plank shortly after 8pm. They left and returned at 9.55pm with faces concealed and armed with a shotgun, which was fired at the 50-year-old man but missed and hit the house wall.

Monika Konopska blackmailed two men she contacted through an adult website. Posing as 'Serena', she demanded £40 from the first victim, then sent photos of his adult children from Facebook and demanded £1,000, threatening to cause a scene. After receiving payment, she sent a photo of his street, went to his home, and posted a note demanding another £1,000. She later posed as 'Bianca' and demanded more money, taking a total of £2,300 from that victim. The second victim reported her to police after she threatened consequences. She was identified through bank details in her real name and a doorbell recording. She admitted blackmail and attempted blackmail.

Nyle Smith, along with Kieran Mellor and Kenneth Stephenson, was involved in an altercation with two men outside a property on The Birches in Davenport Avenue, Crewe, on the evening of Sunday, April 19, 2020. They first arrived armed with knives and a wooden plank shortly after 8pm. They left and returned at 9.55pm with faces concealed and armed with a shotgun, which was fired at the 50-year-old man but missed and hit the house wall.

Michael Burrows was described as a ringleader of an organised criminal group that targeted construction sites and yards across Surrey and the south-east. The group stole dumper trucks, mini diggers and high-value vehicles, then replaced vehicle identification numbers with cloned details and obtained false certificates to sell the machinery on.

On 13 June 2020 at around 12.21am on the A534 Haslington Bypass, Ellson was driving a black Corsa towards Crewe for a takeaway when he lost control after an overtake, colliding with a parked HGV lorry. Passenger the victim suffered fatal injuries. Ellson lied to police and tried to blame his girlfriend.

Rory Need targeted a 9-year-old girl through social media, sending sexualised messages and indecent images. He was arrested in March 2024 after police linked a Snapchat account involved in illegal activity with the child to him. Numerous indecent images were found on his electronic devices. He was convicted of possessing, creating and distributing indecent images of children, causing a child to participate in sexual activity, and engaging in sexual communication with a minor.

On the night of 15 August and morning of 16 August, Sam Everitt assaulted a woman during a journey from Croydon to Horsham, causing her to lose consciousness on multiple occasions. The victim, a woman in her 40s, suffered significant injuries requiring hospital treatment. Everitt was arrested on 18 October after being tracked by police.

Terrence O'Neil, 42, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court after pleading guilty to arranging the commission of a sexual offence of sexual activity with a child. He had believed he was going to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex. He also pleaded guilty to being an adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and to breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Thomas Jones was visited by Cheshire Police's online child abuse investigation team at his Warrington home on October 17, 2025. Officers seized electronic devices and found 582 indecent images of children, amassed between February 2023 and October 2025, including 84 category A, 115 category B and 210 category C images depicting children aged five to 12. Two prohibited images and online chatroom conversations discussing child sexual abuse were also uncovered. He had a previous conviction from 2010 for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child, attempting to meet a child after grooming, and making and possessing indecent images of children.

Syzmon Celinski ran a cannabis distribution operation from his bedroom in Crewe. He was sentenced at Chester Crown Court to 40 months in prison.

William Bath pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods and production of cannabis. He was part of an organised network that stole plant machinery and vehicles across Surrey and the south-east. When he was arrested in January 2020, officers discovered a cannabis factory containing 48 plants valued at about £35,000.