Sheffield Crown Court Sentencing Results

Sean Collins harassed his former partner with more than 330 phone calls after she ended their relationship because he had sex with her mother. He continued to contact her after being arrested and while on bail, causing the victim to barricade her front door out of fear.

Darren Ward, 55, of Norville Crescent, Barnsley, attacked police officers during violent disorder outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, on 4 August 2024. He was filmed aggressively pushing officers and displaying threatening behaviour as part of large-scale scenes of deplorable violence which saw 60 officers injured. The hotel was being used to house asylum seekers. Three months after the disorder, he handed himself in at Barnsley police station after being pictured in a police appeal showing perpetrators of the violence.

On January 16, 2025, around 4pm, Gary Cawthorne, 40, of Norfolk Park Road, entered Sheffield railway station and punched a man in the face in an unprovoked attack, busting his lip. When approached by British Transport Police PCSO on a waiting train, he ran down onto the tracks, attempted to enter nearby tunnels, climbed a tall electrical circuit box, armed himself with a railway bolt, and swung it wildly at officers and paramedics, ignoring requests to come down. This led to a four-hour railway stoppage, cancelling 36 trains, partially cancelling 65, and causing over 50 hours of delays. He was arrested after coming down.

Jack Garwell, 24, from Hilton Avenue, Scunthorpe, was travelling to Doncaster for a date night when he performed a three-vehicle overtake on High Levels Bank in Thorne, exceeding 80mph on a 60mph road. He collided head-on with the victim, a 20-year-old motorcyclist, who was thrown from his bike and died at the scene from catastrophic injuries.

Gary Hutton, 59, of Bootham Crescent in Doncaster, used an online messaging site to attempt to arrange sexual offences against a child. On February 25, 2025, he spoke with a woman he believed would enable him to sexually assault her child, but the account was operated by the Regional Organised Crime Unit as a decoy to catch online predators. He was arrested the following day by the Internet Sex Offences Team (ISOT), with three mobile phones, two tablets, a laptop, and a computer seized. Analysis of one phone revealed conversations with other profiles discussing sexual abuse of children.

On 11 November 2023, in the Stannington area of Sheffield, Corey Owen Cooper, then 17, was driving his grandfather's Fiat Grande Punto with two friends, the victim and another victim, both 17. Travelling at approximately 53mph in a 20mph zone on Myers Grove Lane, he lost control on a bend and struck a metal barrier, overturning the car. This caused the death of the victim and serious injuries to the other victim. Earlier that evening, Cooper had driven at excessive speeds, including around 80mph past Bradfield School, and performed wheel spins in a car park. The dashboard warning lights were on for 90 minutes prior due to a malfunctioning ABS system. The crash occurred on the victim's father's birthday. Cooper was covered in blood and said, 'What have I done, I've killed my best friend.'

Marco Pitzettu, 25, was involved in the 'Einsatz 14' extreme right-wing chat group that plotted attacks on mosques, Islamic education centres, and synagogues. The group shared racist views and amassed over 200 weapons as part of preparations for a terrorist attack in Leeds, driven by ideologies of white supremacy and racial purity.

Brogan Stewart, 25, led the 'Einsatz 14' Nazi-inspired group, creating a mission statement that included duties to target mosques, Islamic education centres, and similar locations. He sent details of the Islamic Education Centre on Mexborough Road in Leeds to an undercover officer, discussing plans for smashing windows, ambushes, beatings, or more serious actions. The group amassed over 200 weapons and planned a terrorist attack.

Christopher Ringrose, 35, was part of the 'Einsatz 14' Nazi-worshipping group that discussed targeting mosques, Islamic education centres, and synagogues for harassment and attacks. The group amassed over 200 weapons and planned a terrorist attack in Leeds. Their ideology involved hate towards non-white races, especially Muslims and immigrants, white supremacy, and beliefs in an impending race war.

Armed police from Doncaster’s Operation Fortify team executed a warrant at a property in Carcroft, Doncaster, in March 2025, where they discovered a shortened single-barrelled shotgun wrapped in a black bin bag hidden under the stairs. Tyler Wright was arrested at the address and charged with the offence.

On June 13, 2024, Earl Treasure drove a Mitsubishi Shogun dangerously during a police chase in Sheffield, running red lights, crashing into street furniture, and throwing two loaded, converted blank-firing guns out of the window. He was apprehended on Pearoyd Lane, and forensic tests confirmed his DNA on the weapons.

Richard Hayles subjected his ex-partner to years of horrific emotional abuse, controlling every aspect of her life, leaving her in debt, issuing veiled threats, playing videos on how a woman should act, and taunting her about suicide. She feared for her life during their relationship, which occurred in the context of an intimate/family relationship. The abuse involved degradation, humiliation, sleep deprivation, and starvation, while she tried to maintain normalcy for her children and work.

In April 2024, Soloman Gordon subjected a woman to severe abuse over a 24-hour period, including multiple beatings, intentional strangulation, false imprisonment, and coercive controlling behaviour inside her flat. A neighbour witnessed the victim hiding in a garden with facial injuries and called emergency services, leading to Gordon's arrest by South Yorkshire Police. The victim reported fearing for her life and described the relationship as a nightmare.

Glynn Leedell, 46, was reported for threatening behaviour towards a woman in Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, on July 17. He rushed at a police officer, slashing the officer's neck with a knife, causing an injury that required hospital treatment. Another officer was injured during the restraint and arrest.

Wasim Bashir, a 55-year-old former detective with West Yorkshire Police, initiated a sexual relationship with a 22-year-old woman who had reported a sexual assault in 2020. He was involved in taking her statement as part of the Kirklees safeguarding team. He contacted her shortly after, leading to meetings and a sexual relationship that continued until she began seeing someone else. He posted photographs of them on a swingers website, which she later protested. The woman, who had mental health issues, reported the relationship in 2021.

At around 2.16am on 15 June 2024, Kevan Turner shot a child in the stomach with a five-foot long air rifle in Barnsley. The child was rushed to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Turner, 43, of Bank End Close, Barnsley, was arrested on suspicion of assault and later charged with wounding without intent.

Anthony Blackwood, 46, of Scotia Drive, Sheffield, met a man in City Road and invited him to stay at his flat. Later that night on February 8, 2024, he brutally attacked the man with a metal pole, causing a complex depressed skull fracture, bleeding on the surface of the brain, and a stab wound to the abdomen. Blackwood attempted to clean the crime scene and change his clothes but was caught through witness statements and forensic analysis.

Jason McGuire, 31, from Mexborough, was caught on camera hurling rocks and concrete slabs at police guarding the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, smashing hotel windows during a violent rampage this August.

Michael Trainer targeted a Sheffield family by setting fire to the ground floor of a property on Philadelphia Gardens in Upperthorpe on October 18, 2024, while a 61-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl were upstairs. The following night, on October 19, 2024, he started a fire at a property on Birch House Avenue, Oughtibridge, with five occupants inside, including those from the first attack. The occupants escaped without injuries, and Trainer was linked to the crimes through forensic evidence from a bottle and brick found at the scenes.

On March 19, Daniel Heeley-Luty was involved in a fight outside Doncaster College. He brandished a 30cm kitchen knife and ran towards another person, leading to a lockdown of the college. He hid the knife in a fenced-off area before being arrested minutes later. The event involved multiple arrests and resulted in a minor hand injury to a non-student.

On December 22, 2024, at 10pm, James McGuinness and others arrived at a property on Hawthorne Grove in Doncaster, where they fired a gun several times at the building and then set it on fire. They fled in a vehicle, which was later found burned out. McGuinness was arrested after being stopped in a Kia Sorento, wearing clothes matching those seen in CCTV footage and smelling of petrol and accelerant.

On December 22, 2024, at 10pm, Ryan Jobes and others arrived at a property on Hawthorne Grove in Doncaster, where they fired a gun several times at the building and then set it on fire. They fled in a vehicle, which was later found burned out. Jobes was arrested after being stopped in a Kia Sorento, wearing clothes matching those seen in CCTV footage and smelling of petrol and accelerant.