St Albans Crown Court Sentencing Results

David Shoubridge, a 35-year-old former British champion motorcyclist from Hatfield, committed a series of offences between November 2022 and July 2023, targeting betting shops in Hatfield and Potters Bar, and a service station at South Mimms. He stole more than £100,000 by wearing black clothing, a balaclava or motorbike helmet, and wielding what appeared to be a handgun, which was later identified as an imitation firearm. He used an angle grinder and crowbar to break into cash machines and left DNA on a BB pistol at one scene. During one incident, he pointed the gun at a female employee, demanding money, and in another, he grabbed a university student, causing bruises and terror. Victims reported severe psychological effects, including nightmares, anxiety, and changes in their daily lives.

Laura Borrell, 44, and her husband Philip benefited from her mother Frances Noble's fraud by acquiring and using laundered proceeds for an extravagant lifestyle, including holidays to Boston, San Francisco, and Canada between 2011 and 2017. They were held out as carers but were not. The money laundering arose from the fraud on Hertfordshire County Council.

Philip Borrell, 46, and his wife Laura benefited from her mother Frances Noble's fraud by acquiring and using laundered proceeds for an extravagant lifestyle, including holidays to Boston, San Francisco, and Canada between 2011 and 2017. He frequently travelled with his wife. The money laundering arose from the fraud on Hertfordshire County Council.

Perry Aldrich set alight garden waste in Balmoral Drive, Borehamwood, on August 12, 2022, which spread to a shed and a block of flats owned by Clarion Housing Association, causing an estimated £3 million worth of damage. This incident displaced 21 residents who required emergency housing, and no one was seriously injured. Aldrich was living in the block of flats at the time.

David Folgate, a boys' football coach from Stonnells Close in Letchworth, was sentenced for indecent assault and gross indecency with a child. He had previously been jailed in the 1990s for indecently assaulting young players, and the recent case involved two additional victims coming forward.

Alfie Eaves, 27, of Sinclair Court, Birmingham, was involved in a county lines drug network known as the A1 line, supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Birmingham to Stevenage and surrounding areas between December 2020 and May 2021. Police executed warrants in May 2021, recovering more than £9,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin, along with over £12,000 in cash. He was arrested and remanded into custody.

Abdullah Milash, 25, of Merryhill Drive, Birmingham, was involved in running a county lines drug network known as the A1 line, supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Birmingham to Stevenage and surrounding areas between December 2020 and May 2021. Police executed warrants in May 2021, recovering more than £9,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin, along with over £12,000 in cash. He was arrested and remanded into custody.

Naeem Ahmed, 25, of Warren Farm Road, Birmingham, was involved in running a county lines drug network known as the A1 line, supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Birmingham to Stevenage and surrounding areas between December 2020 and May 2021. Police executed warrants in May 2021, recovering more than £9,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin, along with over £12,000 in cash. He was arrested and remanded into custody.

Simon Wilson admitted to sexually grooming a teenage girl and committing a number of sexual offences against her.

Husnein Amjad violently beat his father, Amjad Hussain, to death inside the family home on October 28, 2021. The attack occurred after family tensions, including rumours of his father's second marriage, and was captured on an audio recording made by his mother. Police were called to the scene where Mr Hussain was found with serious injuries and pronounced dead shortly after.

Andrew Cuckston sexually abused a vulnerable young girl under 13 in Stevenage between September and December 2018. The offences included assault by penetration, attempted assault by penetration, causing or inciting the girl to engage in sexual activity, and three counts of assault by touching. The victim disclosed the abuse to her family, leading to Cuckston's arrest in January 2019. He was convicted following a trial and sentenced after denying the allegations.

In October 2019, Dermot Quilligan and his accomplice attended a property in Stevenage, fraudulently pressuring the customer into agreeing to unnecessary roofing work valued at £5,400 instead of the original £60 quote for fixing leaking guttering. He caused criminal damage to the roof, behaved in a coercive and aggressive manner, and demanded immediate payment of £2,000 for scaffolding, leading to his arrest after a bank raised concerns.

In October 2019, Patrick O’Brien, along with Dermot Quilligan, attended a property in Stevenage, pressuring the customer into unnecessary roofing work valued at £5,400 instead of the original £60 quote for fixing leaking guttering. He was involved in causing criminal damage to the roof and behaving in a coercive and aggressive manner.

Clive Holmes, a 70-year-old man from Knebworth, abused his wife over the course of their 47-year marriage and was sentenced for two counts of Grievous Bodily Harm against her.

Ashley Mynott, aged 25, established an online sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl, encouraging her to perform oral sex on her boyfriend, sending her a picture of his penis, and receiving a picture of her exposed breasts. He also secretly filmed a young woman in the shower on multiple occasions between June 17, 2015, and November 22, 2016. This was discovered during a polygraph test related to a previous conviction.

Waste from the Tring sewage treatment works repeatedly leaked into the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire between July 2012 and April 2013 due to poorly performing inlet screens causing equipment blockages, leading to sewage debris and sludge discharge. Routine samples on January 31, 2013, showed high levels of iron, aluminium, and chemical oxygen demand. Public complaints and visits by Environment Agency officers confirmed pollution, including sanitary products and ear buds near the outfall.

Paul Bint, a habitual fraudster, impersonated high-profile figures such as the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer and barrister Jonathan Rees to deceive women he met through newspaper dating columns and the internet. Over a six-week period, he stole cash, jewellery, and other items from at least five victims, including businesswoman Penelope Edwards and Vivienne Walsh, by gaining their trust and access to their homes. He also committed burglary by stealing a barrister's laptop from the robing room and drove while disqualified. His actions involved false claims of owning luxury cars, properties, and socialising with celebrities, leading to significant emotional and financial harm to his victims.

Malcolm Fairley, from Sunderland and Peterlee, County Durham, committed a series of burglaries, rapes, and serious sexual assaults across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire throughout 1984. He broke into victims' homes, built dens, carried out offences while masked and armed with a shotgun, then escaped to the countryside. He was the subject of a major manhunt and caught due to his northern accent and distinctive harvest yellow Austin Allegro car.