Leicester Crown Court Sentencing Results

Tony Smith, 26, formerly of Green Acre, Needingworth Road, Cambridgeshire, was involved in a crime spree of 16 burglaries between May and July 2025, using stolen vehicles to ram-raid small supermarkets and steal ATMs across five counties including Leicestershire, Dorset, and others. Specific incidents include ramming the Knighton Co-Op on London Road, Leicester, on May 29, 2025, at 3.30am with a Mitsubishi Shogun, stealing the cash machine later found abandoned; and on July 9, 2025, at 4.07am, ramming the Co-Op in Cambridge Road, Whetstone, with a blue Toyota Hilux, colliding with a police car during escape. He was evidentially linked to similar offences in Christchurch, Ludlow, Shillingstone, Uttoxeter, Southampton, Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury, Shardlow, Craven Arms, Gillingham, Ilkeston, and thefts of vehicles and lifting equipment.

David Azumara, a 21-year-old Leicester university student studying business and marketing, allowed £15,033 to pass through his bank accounts in 2022 as part of a high-value texting scam. Fraudsters sent fake texts to victims pretending to be family members in need, such as children claiming their phone was broken and requesting money transfers. One female victim sent £4,611 in one day, and a married couple paid over £3,680. The money typically ended up as cryptocurrency. Azumara was asked by others to use his accounts, expecting assistance for his university course but received nothing and lost money on transfers. He had no knowledge of the original fraud.

On January 22, 2024, shortly before midnight, Cory Heritage, who had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis, was driving a Ford EcoSport on Barlestone Road in Bagworth, near Coalville, with his uncle, the victim, in the passenger seat. Heritage drove too quickly around a bend, lost control, causing the vehicle to flip and crash into a tree, resulting in the victim's death. Upon arrival of Leicestershire Police, Heritage lied, claiming the victim was driving, and later attempted to destroy evidence by hiding and washing his clothes. Forensic examination of the airbags confirmed Heritage was the driver. No charges for drink or drug driving were brought due to errors in blood sample paperwork.

Craig Thompson, a married man in his mid-40s from Norman Street, off Narborough Road in Leicester, began an affair with an 18-year-old woman in April 2024. During the relationship, which lasted until October 2024, he exerted complete control over her through coercive and abusive behaviour, including sending up to 45 abusive messages daily accusing her of cheating, leaving insulting voice messages, threatening self-harm, and threatening to harm her pet dog to ensure compliance. This made her feel worthless and depressed, severely impacting her mental health. The victim reported a minor assault to Leicestershire Police in September 2024 but initially declined prosecution upon discovering she was pregnant with his child. After she ended the relationship in October 2024, Thompson stalked her with threatening messages involving fear of violence. She reported him again, leading to charges. Thompson denied the offences, but was found guilty at a two-day trial in his absence after failing to appear on the second day. The victim gave birth to their child in May 2025 and expressed ongoing fear of Thompson finding her and harming her or the child.

Gurwinder Singh drove his car into a crowd of people in De Montfort Street, Leicester city centre, in the early hours of Saturday, May 31, 2025, during a private event, injuring six victims (four men and one woman with serious injuries requiring hospital treatment, plus one from a preceding fight). The car fled the scene but was found hours later in Margaret Street with number plates removed to evade capture. Singh handed himself in at Keyham Lane police station on the evening of May 31, 2025.

Karen Spragg, co-defendant of the co-defendant, was involved in the situation surrounding the co-defendant's false claim to be the missing child. Although found not guilty of stalking and harassment, she was deemed to have enjoyed the drama and was therefore subjected to restrictions to protect the victim's family.

On May 9, 2024, at approximately 9pm, Liam Keran, along with Kira Newton and Joanna James, forced their way into a vulnerable woman's flat in Kibworth Harcourt, near Market Harborough. The attack was pre-planned as revenge because the victim had refused to give Newton £10. Keran grabbed the woman around the neck and throttled her until she became dizzy and fell to the ground. While she lay on the floor in the corridor outside her home, Keran stamped on her face and then grabbed her head. The assault ended when Leicestershire Police arrived. The victim, who has a serious medical condition, was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary suffering from blurred vision, headaches, bruises, and cuts to her face, neck, and arm.

Dale Parker, a 40-year-old homeless man, entered the Tarboush Cafe in Market Street, Loughborough, on June 2, 2025, while visibly drunk and armed with a hammer and a plank of wood, claiming he needed them for protection as he believed he was being chased. On the same week, he stole a crate of cider worth £40 from Morrisons on Maxwell Drive and threw cans at staff during a confrontation. On June 15, 2025, he was seen swinging a metal baseball bat at another man on Jubilee Way, Loughborough, leading to his arrest. He also damaged police property by spitting, urinating, and smearing excrement in a police van and cell.

Carlene Francis was walking along Regent Street in Hinckley when men outside The New Baron of Hinckley pub spoke to her. She ran across the road, pulled a knife from her bra, and threatened the men with it on the afternoon of May 20. CCTV footage showed her waving the blade and attempting to approach them further, though she was pulled away by a friend. This incident was influenced by her history as a victim of attacks, including domestic abuse and sexual assaults, as well as her struggles with drug addiction and mental health issues.

Paul Fisher made multiple threatening calls between April 13 and May 5, 2025, claiming bombs had been planted at various locations, including pubs in Boston and Lincoln, Heathrow Airport, St Pancras railway station, Scotland Yard, Birmingham Airport, a hotel in London, and others. These actions led to significant police resources being deployed and public disruption.

Lisa McArdle assisted in selling counterfeit goods, including fake Adidas, Nike, Paco Rabanne, Tiffany, Apple, and Yves Saint Laurent products, through Facebook Marketplace. The operation received complaints about poor quality and refused refunds between July 2020 and October 2021. Trading Standards seized 3,558 items during searches, with the business estimated to have a turnover of at least £480,000.

Helen Brindley-Walker ran an operation selling counterfeit goods, including fake Adidas, Nike, Paco Rabanne, Tiffany, Apple, and Yves Saint Laurent products, through Facebook Marketplace. Complaints about poor quality and refused refunds were made to Leicestershire County Council's Trading Standards team between July 2020 and October 2021. Trading Standards conducted test purchases and seized 3,558 items from her home and storage units. The business had an estimated turnover of at least £480,000.

Baram Tofiq, owner of Booze Zone in Loughborough, sold counterfeit and non-compliant tobacco products on multiple occasions, including in October 2021 and December 2022. Officers discovered illicit items during searches, and Tofiq tried to discard evidence by throwing products over a fence into a neighbouring garden. The offences involved selling genuine cigarettes not intended for the UK market and fake copies of brands like Richmond and Lambert & Butler.

Claudiu Cristea possessed a terrorist document, 'The Anarchist’s Cookbook', which provided instructions on making explosives. He was involved in an online far-right group suspected of planning attacks and claimed his interest was academic, but investigations proved otherwise. He was arrested at his home in February 2024.

Tyler Webb met a woman online on a suicide support forum and repeatedly urged her to take her own life and self-harm for his enjoyment. He instructed her on how to do so, threatened to abandon her if she resisted, and expressed disappointment when her attempts failed. She made two suicide attempts, suffered serious physical harm including permanent scars, and required hospitalisation. Webb was arrested in July of the previous year and remanded in custody before being transferred to a psychiatric hospital in November.

Colin Robson-Durrance communicated with a decoy account on Snapchat that posed as a 13-year-old boy, encouraging the 'boy' to perform sexual acts on himself, sending explicit videos, and asking if the boy would meet up. He became suspicious and stopped the contact. He was arrested in January 2025 and pleaded guilty in July 2025.

Claudiu Stefan Cristea was found in possession of 'The Anarchist’s Cookbook', a document providing instructions on manufacturing explosives, weapons, and drugs. He was part of the online far-right group 'Einsatz14', suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Leeds. He was arrested at his home in Queens Road, Knighton, Leicester, in February 2024, following an intelligence-led investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East.

Kevin Joseph stole a delivery van that was parked in Netherhall, Leicester, with keys in the ignition, and led police on a 20-minute chase through countryside and areas including Northfields and Belgrave. He drove dangerously, jumping red lights, overtaking aggressively, mounting the kerb, and crashing into an ambulance in Highfields. The incident occurred in December of the previous year, and he claimed he stole the van to raise £800 for his mother to move house.

Rohith-Reddy Kananala pretended to be a fraud investigator and contacted eight victims aged between 79 and 88 years old over a few days in March, tricking them into withdrawing and sending him approximately £30,000 through the post to help fund fraud enquiries related to their accounts. The money was delivered to his home address on Kimberley Road, where he signed for the packages under the name 'William' and filmed himself counting it. He was identified and arrested by detectives from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.

Amer Ilyas assisted his father in a fraud scheme by helping recruit customers through social media for worthless car insurance policies. He received £11,977 from the criminal profits between September 2019 and June 2020, contributing to a scam that left dozens of victims uninsured.