Sheffield Magistrates' Court Sentencing Results

On December 7, 2024, Sophie Zaherali's XL Bully dog Ghost bolted out of the door onto Dunella Street in Hillsborough, Sheffield, while she was tending to her child with epilepsy and autism. The door lock was faulty. Police officers shot and killed the dog three times to mitigate risk to the public. Following the incident, Zaherali led a campaign of abuse on social media against the officers, calling them murderers.

On February 22, 2025, officers entered an address in Rotherham where Jake Riley was housing six dogs and a snake. Two dogs were in crates with faeces and no water. All dogs had injuries and medical issues. One dog was euthanized immediately, two more later, and three were rehabilitated and rehomed. A Royal Python snake was found dead in a glass case without a heat lamp bulb, having starved to death.

Edmund Fowler, of Skelwith Drive, drove to Sheffield Grand Mosque on four occasions between May and June 2025. He released rats from a cage into the mosque grounds, shouted racist insults at people entering the building, and filmed himself committing the acts. He was captured on CCTV taking a rat from the boot of his Black Audi on June 2, 2025.

On January 13, 2025, Laine Hempsey drove a Vauxhall Signum dangerously in Gleadless, Sheffield, after running a red light and ignoring a police request to stop. He drove on the wrong side of the carriageway despite oncoming traffic, on pavements, and crashed into a Vauxhall Astra before abandoning the vehicle and attempting to flee on foot. He was apprehended with the help of a police dog, tested positive for being over the prescribed limit for cannabis, and admitted to having only a provisional driving licence and no insurance.

PC Kenny Walton, a 40-year-old West Yorkshire Police officer from Featherstone, used excessive force while dealing with a member of the public in Wakefield city centre on 16 June 2024. He had asked a man to leave a mental health hub, but his subsequent actions were not appropriate. The incident was captured on body-worn video, which contradicted his statement.

Lee Hamshaw stole five electric toothbrushes worth £390 from one Tesco store and four bottles of alcohol worth £120 from another Tesco store by hiding them in his trousers and coat.