Manchester Crown Court Sentencing Results

Thomas Whittaker, along with another individual, engaged in graffiti vandalism, causing approximately £13,000 worth of damage to railway property across the North West. This involved spray-painting various sites, and he was sentenced as an adult despite it being his first offence.

TJ Dolan, a 20-year-old graffiti artist from Leek Road, Sutton, vandalised railway property. He was involved in graffiti offences with his friend Tom Whittaker, and they were caught and sentenced after pleading guilty.

Tom Whittaker, an 18-year-old graffiti artist from Brocklehurst Avenue, vandalised railway property alongside TJ Dolan. They were known for their graffiti tags and pleaded guilty to the offences.

In 1994, Bryan Keen attacked a woman known as Miss A at the Pelican Hotel in Altrincham. He kidnapped and falsely imprisoned her, gagging her with tape he had pre-positioned in the room, blindfolding her, and raping her while telling her he was videoing the scene, likely for commercial exploitation. Advances in DNA technology enabled police to trace him through evidence left on a towel.

John Thorpe deceived Anton and Christine Grashion by forging county court documents to falsely claim he had funds in a pension, faking bank letters from HSBC to suggest payments, and avoiding payment for their business, CMG Rentals, which they were selling for £105,000. He further manipulated the situation by hiring their family members, transferring assets to another company to evade repayment, and fabricating excuses such as being arrested at the airport, resulting in the victims losing over £10,000 and abandoning their retirement plans in Tenerife.

Paul Bannatyne, a 20-year-old music student from Spinners Lane, etched his tag 'Omas' into train windows and sprayed graffiti on railway property as part of a three-year pattern of vandalism on the line from Poynton to Manchester. He was caught through Operation Juggernaut, an undercover initiative that led to 25 successful prosecutions since 2003. The damage contributed to over £45,000 in costs for refurbishing trains operated by First North Western.

Mark Rickards, a 19-year-old music student from Vernon Road, etched his tag 'Ink 13' into train windows and sprayed graffiti on railway property on the line from Poynton to Manchester. He was apprehended as part of Operation Juggernaut, which targeted graffiti vandals. His actions contributed to over £45,000 in damage, requiring refurbishment of multiple trains operated by First North Western. He began tagging at age 13 and later offered to make amends.

Stephen Mee was caught by undercover police attempting to bring £1m worth of cannabis and cocaine into the UK from Colombia. While on remand in HMP Risley, he escaped custody on April 1, 1993, during transfer to Manchester Crown Court, leading to sentencing in his absence. He fled to the Netherlands, joined Curtis Warren in building a major cocaine smuggling operation involving shipments from South America hidden in various containers. The operation was dismantled in a joint UK-Dutch police operation codenamed 'Crayfish', resulting in his arrest in the Netherlands.

William Henry Thorpe, motivated by jealousy over Frances Clarke's marriage, broke into her home at 9 Clarke Street, Bolton, on November 20, 1925, by scaling the back wall and entering through a kitchen window. He slit her throat with a razor while she was in bed, leading to her death. Thorpe was arrested later that day after attempting suicide and confessed to the crime, though he later claimed drunkenness prevented him from remembering the events.