Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court Sentencing Results

James Davidson, 60, from Stockport, breached a sexual harm prevention order by using undeclared electronic devices and posing as a 17-year-old boy online to communicate with girls. In March 2025 officers raided his home and later decrypted devices after he refused to reveal passwords. He was found to have communicated with multiple girls using aliases. When one child said she was 14, Davidson said he did not care about the age and described his sexual desires in explicit detail. He was arrested again and further undeclared devices were found.

Letitia Sandys participated in the activities of an organised crime group that supplied cocaine and cannabis across Trafford. The court heard she collected drugs from co-conspirators, helped with anti-surveillance measures, and disposed of drugs and paraphernalia. She pleaded guilty in January.

On April 21, 2025, Shaun Orchard, 23, stole his stepfather's Mercedes after drinking pints and snorting cocaine. He drove dangerously on the M60 at up to 120mph, undertook lorries, then continued at around 100mph along 30mph Hyde Road. He failed to stop at a red light and collided with a police car driven by PC Rushton, causing the officer serious injuries including fractured ribs, ankle, and arm, a ruptured bladder, and psychological trauma. Orchard held only a provisional licence and had 112mg of alcohol and 216µg of benzoylecgonine per 100ml of blood, both above the legal limits.

James Melia was a member of a gang responsible for a series of violent robberies and burglaries across Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The gang's crimes included a raid on an Altrincham industrial premises selling designer goods, during which a security guard was threatened with a machete and handbags worth £200,000 were stolen. In another incident, a woman was targeted in a Cheadle car park, where a balaclava-wearing man brandishing a screwdriver demanded her £160,000 watch and £20,000 engagement ring, while an accomplice blocked her escape. The gang had fitted a tracking device to her car. Across eight offences spanning Stockport, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and dating back to 2021, the gang stole goods worth close to £1 million. Melia pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years and two months in prison.

Junior Owen was a member of a gang responsible for a series of violent robberies and burglaries across Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The gang's crimes included a raid on an Altrincham industrial premises selling designer goods, during which a security guard was threatened with a machete and handbags worth £200,000 were stolen. In another incident, a woman was targeted in a Cheadle car park, where a balaclava-wearing man brandishing a screwdriver demanded her £160,000 watch and £20,000 engagement ring, while an accomplice blocked her escape. The gang had fitted a tracking device to her car. Across eight offences spanning Stockport, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and dating back to 2021, the gang stole goods worth close to £1 million. Owen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years and two months in prison.

On January 19, 2026, Andrew Bate drove a Ford Fiesta in Ashton-under-Lyne, ignoring police signals to stop. He manoeuvred around the police car, drove through a red light, crossed solid white lines, overtook vehicles, and reached 80mph in a residential area. He lost control and crashed into a fence outside a pub, then attempted to flee. The car had cloned registration plates and a fake VIN; crack cocaine was found under the driver's seat. Bate had only an expired provisional licence and no insurance.

Carlo Tritta, 19, groomed a 14-year-old girl he met on social media, encouraging her to engage in sexual communication and share intimate images and videos for his own sexual gratification. He attended her address in breach of bail and a court suspended sentence order, causing criminal damage and intimidating witnesses, leaving the victim and her family feeling unsafe in their own home.

On May 2, 2025, Wayne Burgess, a 61-year-old lorry driver from Holme Bank, Rossendale, was distracted while on a hands-free call reciting a postcode in Salford and inputting it into his sat nav. He ploughed into the rear of a 70-year-old grandmother's car on the M62 near Birch Services, squashing it between his lorry and another truck ahead. The victim was trapped for a significant time before being freed by firefighters and treated at Salford Royal for a fractured eye socket, two broken ribs, numerous cuts, and severe facial disfigurement. Burgess tested positive for cocaine after the crash and exclaimed 'F****** hell, I've just killed someone'. The victim survived miraculously but has been unable to work or care for her grandchildren, with ongoing trauma affecting her family.

On April 2, 2025, Colan Entwistle, driven by jealousy, travelled to his then-girlfriend's residence in Langley, Middleton, where her ex-partner was present. After bombarding his then-girlfriend with abusive messages and threats upon learning of their interaction, Entwistle confronted the victim as he left around midnight, declaring 'I've got an axe.' As the victim tried to flee over a fence, Entwistle struck him in the back with the axe, causing a collapsed lung and severe bleeding. The victim thought he was going to die and was hospitalized for five days. Entwistle pursued him briefly before fleeing. He was arrested 24 hours later in Oldham. While on remand, he attempted to contact his then-girlfriend to retract her statement.

Josh Baxter, 28, was convicted of intentional suffocation and inflicting grievous bodily harm after he restrained, choked and suffocated a man he met on an online dating app. Baxter strangled the victim with such force that he fractured a bone in his neck, causing a lack of oxygen to the brain and cardiac arrest. Instead of immediately calling emergency services, Baxter searched online about the likelihood of going to prison and left the flat to collect a takeaway delivery. He was acquitted of manslaughter and sentenced to four years' imprisonment.

Joshua Baxter met the victim through an online dating app. At Baxter's flat, he restrained, choked and suffocated the victim during a sexual encounter, applying such force that he fractured a bone in the victim's neck. The victim suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain and died from cardiac arrest. Instead of calling emergency services, Baxter searched online about the likelihood of going to prison and left the flat to collect a takeaway delivery. He was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm and intentional suffocation and acquitted of manslaughter.

On October 18, 2024, David Croly, 42, of Ludlow Avenue, Salford, became violent at Banyan bar in Manchester city centre's Corn Exchange after being refused toilet access as a non-paying customer. He punched a staff member in the shoulder, fell over, pestered two women causing them to leave, smashed plates and glasses outside, picked up a sharp object, approached a group of men, and stabbed one in the neck five times, causing a small wound. He then challenged and attempted to punch another man who intervened. Croly was arrested later that day and kicked at officers during detention.

On June 28, 2023, at around 6.30pm, Abdul Khaliq, 32, of Collingwood Way, was driving a Vauxhall at excessive speed under the influence of cocaine (taken the previous day) along Stockport Road in Oldham. He failed to slow down, brake, or give way at a four-way junction with clear markings, crashing into a BMW carrying passenger the victim and the victim's cousin. The impact destroyed Khaliq's vehicle and caved in the passenger side of the BMW. The victim suffered severe injuries including multiple left-side rib fractures, bruising to kidney and lungs, fractured pelvis, and required emergency spleen removal; he was in intensive care and hospital for a month, impacting his active lifestyle with ongoing pain and mobility issues. Khaliq sustained a fractured rib and burn, admitted to police he missed the markings and should have concentrated more, attributing the incident to being 'silly'.

On a Friday evening, Carl Bullock, driving an HGV lorry on the M62 eastbound between junctions 21 and 22 near Rochdale, failed to notice the stationary Ford Transit van of the victim which had broken down in the slow lane at 60mph. Bullock was reaching for an item in his glove compartment and did not slow down despite warnings from another driver. The lorry ploughed into the back of the van, throwing it across the carriageway into the central reservation. The victim suffered serious neck and head injuries, was knocked unconscious, spent eight days in hospital, and underwent numerous operations.

Samantha Wall, 55, from Butterfield Close, Cheadle, Stockport, met entrepreneur and author the male victim at an event in 2019 where she spoke to him for just two minutes. She then began a relentless four-year campaign of cyberstalking, posting false accusations on social media platforms, including claims that the male victim poisoned her cat, had affairs, was a sex offender, harassed and abused her over a decade, was raided by police, issued with a stalking protection order, imprisoned for nine years, and had a psychopathic twin brother covering for him. She also harassed businesswoman the female victim, 53, from Sale, for around three years with lies and defamation. The campaign ruined the victims' reputations, caused mental health issues requiring medication, led to the collapse of the male victim's business network and insolvency of his primary business, and left them feeling hopeless and broken.