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Daniel Purrsey|Theft and handling stolen goods|Margate Magistrates CourtHasnen Iqbal|Being concerned in the supply of a class B drug|Stoke on Trent Crown CourtRobert English|Kidnapping and rape|Ipswich Crown CourtAntony Busfield|Rape of a child under 13|Stoke on Trent Crown CourtJosh Jerrum|Attempted robbery|Basildon Crown CourtSaleh Hassan|Causing death by dangerous driving|Birmingham Crown CourtAlfie Harmer|Possession with intent to supply cannabis and possessing criminal property|Portsmouth Crown CourtAdriaan Spenkelink|Attempted rape and sexual offences against children|Ipswich Crown CourtDaniel Purrsey|Theft and handling stolen goods|Margate Magistrates CourtHasnen Iqbal|Being concerned in the supply of a class B drug|Stoke on Trent Crown CourtRobert English|Kidnapping and rape|Ipswich Crown CourtAntony Busfield|Rape of a child under 13|Stoke on Trent Crown CourtJosh Jerrum|Attempted robbery|Basildon Crown CourtSaleh Hassan|Causing death by dangerous driving|Birmingham Crown CourtAlfie Harmer|Possession with intent to supply cannabis and possessing criminal property|Portsmouth Crown CourtAdriaan Spenkelink|Attempted rape and sexual offences against children|Ipswich Crown Court

Taunton Crown Court Sentencing Results

Date Not Specified 24 cases
Christopher Rost-Aldridge
Date not specified
Non-dwelling burglary and fraud by false representation *
Sentence
18 months imprisonment and £156 victim surcharge

Christopher Rost-Aldridge, 31, from Highbridge, committed several non-dwelling burglaries in Bridgwater. On Thursday 22 April, he entered the staffing area of a bakery and stole a purse. Four days later, he committed a similar offence at a joinery firm, stealing clothes and bank cards. He used the bank cards to purchase items worth £37.49 the same day.

Pleaded guilty to two counts of non-dwelling burglary and one of fraud by false representation. Asked for a further six non-dwelling burglaries, four thefts and one fraud offence to be taken into consideration. Described as a prolific offender.
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Clare Finka
Date not specified
Concerned in the supply of Class A drugs *
Sentence
2-year suspended prison sentence

Seven members of a county lines drug gang transported Class A drugs including heroin and crack cocaine from the West Midlands and sold them on the streets of Bridgwater. Activities disrupted by police after public reports of open drug sales. Officers identified transaction locations, stopped suspicious individuals, traced phone lines used to coordinate sales. Nine warrants executed at addresses in Bridgwater, Wolverhampton and London led to arrests of four men and three women, recovery of significant sums of Class A drugs, cash, weapons, ammunition and a stab vest.

Told to attend a drug rehabilitation course. Part of a county lines drug gang transporting Class A drugs from the West Midlands to Bridgwater.
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Phillip Grove
Date not specified
Rape *
Sentence
22 years imprisonment

In the 1990s, while a volunteer Chief Petty Officer at a Sea Cadets group in Taunton, Phillip Grove raped one child victim, indecently assaulted another, and committed acts of indecency in front of two other child victims across incidents spanning six years. Reported to police in September 2020, arrested in March 2021, convicted on December 8, 2023.

Found guilty after trial of 15 charges: two counts of rape, 10 counts of indecency with a child, and three counts of indecent assault. One year on extended licence. Life-long Sexual Harm Prevention Order, required to register as a sex offender for life, and barred from working with children. Judge described him as a 'dangerous individual', 'self-centred, dishonest and callous' with no remorse.
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Phoenix Fox
Date not specified
Concerned in the supply of Class A drugs *
Sentence
2-year suspended prison sentence

Seven members of a county lines drug gang transported Class A drugs including heroin and crack cocaine from the West Midlands and sold them on the streets of Bridgwater. Activities disrupted by police after public reports of open drug sales. Officers identified transaction locations, stopped suspicious individuals, traced phone lines used to coordinate sales. Nine warrants executed at addresses in Bridgwater, Wolverhampton and London led to arrests of four men and three women, recovery of significant sums of Class A drugs, cash, weapons, ammunition and a stab vest.

Told to attend a drug rehabilitation course. Part of a county lines drug gang transporting Class A drugs from the West Midlands to Bridgwater.
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Robert Risvegli
Date not specified
supply of cocaine and heroin *
Sentence
six years and three months imprisonment

Robert Risvegli, 22, from London, was convicted of being involved in the supply of cocaine and heroin as part of a county lines operation bringing class A drugs into Bridgwater. The criminal activity spanned a six-month period between May and October 2020. He was arrested following a joint operation between Avon and Somerset Police and the Met Police.

From London. Part of a county lines operation. DI Scott Chadwick: 'This was a county line network which targeted some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We estimate this network supplied approximately 1.6 kg of class A drugs over a six-month period, with a street value of approximately £162,000.'
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Sapphire Dennis
Date not specified
Supplying cocaine *
Sentence
2 years imprisonment suspended with 300 hours unpaid work

Sapphire Dennis, 30, of Ford Lane, Ferndown, was arrested on July 17, 2023 at Matthew Appleyard’s Milborne Port home. Officers seized 210g of cocaine worth £17,230 and over £42,500 in criminal property. She was sentenced after dealing cocaine for more than two years.

Arrested alongside co-defendant during cocaine raid.
stouravonmagazine.co.uk
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Sarah Hewitt
Date not specified
Being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin *
Sentence
three years and two months imprisonment

Sarah Hewitt, 43, from Mansfield Road, Taunton, was arrested in April 2021. During a search of her address, officers seized drugs paraphernalia, a quantity of cash and heroin. Analysis of her phone records showed she was actively concerned with supplying drugs in Taunton for some time.

Pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, possession of a class A drug and a class B drug. Made subject to a seven-year criminal behaviour order preventing her from owning or possessing a mobile phone or SIM card not registered in her name. Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings ongoing.
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Scott Franks
Date not specified
Possession with intent to supply a class A drug *
Sentence
4 years imprisonment

Scott Franks, from St Austell in Cornwall, was stopped on the M5 in Somerset on Wednesday 23 March by Avon and Somerset Police officers. Inside the car they found a block of heroin, as well as a 1kg bag of cutting agent. The 50-year-old Franks had been acting as a courier for an organised crime group. He was transporting drugs between the Devon and Cornwall and Merseyside areas. He had made numerous trips over a six-month period.

Convicted of possession with intent to supply a class A drug and being concerned in the supply of a class A drug. Acting as a courier for an organised crime group.
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Seamus Ford
Date not specified
Supply of crack cocaine and heroin *
Sentence
28 months imprisonment

Seamus Ford was involved in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin in Yeovil between 7 January and 2 February 2023 as part of a County Lines network targeting vulnerable people. He was arrested earlier this year at home in Eastleigh, Hampshire, following a joint operation between Avon & Somerset Police and the Metropolitan Police, where a phone used to deal the drugs was also found.

Admitted to being involved in the supply. Arrested at home where a phone used to deal drugs was found. Of Eastleigh in Hampshire.
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Sonny Sheppard
Date not specified
conspiracy to supply class A drugs *
Sentence
15 years in prison

Sonny Sheppard, 31, of Blackwell Lane in London, was part of a group involved in a county lines operation bringing approximately 5kg of class A drugs from London to supply in Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil between August 2020 and February 2021. The drugs trade was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. The convictions followed a joint operation between Avon and Somerset Police and the Metropolitan Police.

Guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Judge James Townsend described the operation as sophisticated and well-organised, bringing intimidation, misery and violence to young people in Somerset.
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Stuart Marchmont
Date not specified
Inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity *
Sentence
10 years imprisonment

Stuart Marchmont from Glastonbury incited a 12-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity via an online platform. He attempted to contact what he believed were five underage girls but was messaging specialist ROCU officers targeting online child exploiters. Also sentenced for causing non-penetrative sexual activity with a 15-year-old and making indecent images of the same child. Offences came to light on arrest in 2021. Formerly of Park Farm Road.

Found guilty after trial of 13 online sexual offences. Received indefinite sexual harm prevention order and placed on sexual offenders’ register.
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Stuart Wells
Date not specified
Causing serious injury by dangerous driving *
Sentence
3 years and 7 months imprisonment, disqualified from driving for 5 years

Stuart Wells, of Terrace View in Sherborne, Dorset, was driving his Ford Fiesta erratically along the A39 and B3151 prior to the collision last March near Somerton. Witnesses reported the vehicle drifting across the carriageway, veering onto the verge and wrong side of the road, and driving aggressively behind another car. His Ford Fiesta collided with the side of the male victim’s Peugeot 307, causing it to spin out of control into a hedge, then collided head-on with the female victim’s Seat Ibiza. A VW Polo then collided at slow speed with the Seat. The female victim suffered a broken leg and lost her unborn child; her three-year-old daughter sustained a broken neck and was paralysed for four months.

Previously admitted causing the collision. Appeared on two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and one count of dangerous driving.
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Sylwester Mazur
Date not specified
Causing grievous bodily harm *
Sentence
two years imprisonment

Sylwester Mazur, of Henson Park, Chard, stabbed two men known to him while they were sat on benches in Fore Street throughout the evening on Christmas Day into the early hours of Boxing Day. An argument broke out about one of Mazur’s relatives, resulting in Mazur attacking one victim with a knife, causing injuries to his face and neck. The other victim attempted to intervene and suffered stab injuries to his leg and body, as well as injuries to his face and hand.

Admitted charges of causing grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article midway through a trial.
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Thalia Banks
Date not specified
conspiracy to supply class A drugs *
Sentence
18 months suspended for two years

Thalia Banks, 20, of Hunstrete Lane in Compton Dando, was sentenced as part of a group supplying approximately 5kg of class A drugs from London into Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil between August 2020 and February 2021. The county lines operation was valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Involved in a well-organised county lines drug supply operation. Judge James Townsend highlighted the intimidation, misery and violence caused to young people in Somerset.
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Natasia Gayle
Date not specified
Concerned in the supply of Class A drugs *
Sentence
3 years and 6 months imprisonment

Seven members of a county lines drug gang transported Class A drugs including heroin and crack cocaine from the West Midlands and sold them on the streets of Bridgwater. Activities disrupted by police after public reports of open drug sales. Officers identified transaction locations, stopped suspicious individuals, traced phone lines used to coordinate sales. Nine warrants executed at addresses in Bridgwater, Wolverhampton and London led to arrests of four men and three women, recovery of significant sums of Class A drugs, cash, weapons, ammunition and a stab vest.

Part of a county lines drug gang transporting Class A drugs from the West Midlands to Bridgwater.
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Omar Bailey
Date not specified
Being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine *
Sentence
three years and six months' imprisonment

Omar Bailey, of Swinderby Road in Wembley, was involved in transporting class A drugs including heroin and cocaine to Bridgwater from London between December 2020 and March 2021 as part of a county lines operation. He was arrested as part of a joint investigation between Avon & Somerset Police and the Metropolitan Police.

Pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine.
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Paul Green
Date not specified
Assault *
Sentence
2 years imprisonment

On Wednesday 25 May 2022, Paul Green, of Pearmain Road, Somerton, aged 40, and his wife got into a verbal argument. After going to bed, Green woke the victim and threatened her with a knife. He also covered her face with a pillow. He then left the property but returned later, shouting outside the house until police arrived.

Handed a five-year prevention from harassment order.
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Malique Orrell
Date not specified
Concerned in the supply of Class A drugs *
Sentence
3 years and 1 month imprisonment

Seven members of a county lines drug gang transported Class A drugs including heroin and crack cocaine from the West Midlands and sold them on the streets of Bridgwater. Activities disrupted by police after public reports of open drug sales. Officers identified transaction locations, stopped suspicious individuals, traced phone lines used to coordinate sales. Nine warrants executed at addresses in Bridgwater, Wolverhampton and London led to arrests of four men and three women, recovery of significant sums of Class A drugs, cash, weapons, ammunition and a stab vest.

Part of a county lines drug gang transporting Class A drugs from the West Midlands to Bridgwater.
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Matthew Appleyard
Date not specified
Supplying cocaine *
Sentence
6 years and 4 months imprisonment

Matthew Appleyard, 31, of Milborne Port, was arrested on July 17, 2023 at his home in Combe Hill. Officers seized 210g of cocaine worth £17,230 and over £42,500 in criminal property including vehicles. Phone messages showed involvement in cocaine supply estimated at five times that value. He was sentenced for dealing cocaine for more than two years.

Main perpetrator in cocaine supply enterprise estimated at over £250,000. Property fortified to hinder police entry.
stouravonmagazine.co.uk
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Michael Sellings
Date not specified
Rape of a child under 13 *
Sentence
12 years imprisonment

Michael Sellings, 63, of Horsey Lane in Yeovil, committed 12 offences between November 2016 and June 2021, including three counts of raping a child under the age of 13, one count of causing/inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, three counts of making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, three counts of taking an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, one count of possessing extreme pornographic images, and one count of possessing prohibited images of a child. Arrested following intelligence; police seized 11 items from his home containing over 7,000 images including 1,751 category A (most serious), plus 28 images he took himself of two children under 13.

Pleaded guilty to 12 offences. Judge noted his offending caused 'absolute devastation' to his two victims. Also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
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Tina Austin-Saunders
Date not specified
Concerned in the supply of Class A drugs *
Sentence
2 years and 9 months imprisonment

Seven members of a county lines drug gang transported Class A drugs including heroin and crack cocaine from the West Midlands and sold them on the streets of Bridgwater. Activities disrupted by police after public reports of open drug sales. Officers identified transaction locations, stopped suspicious individuals, traced phone lines used to coordinate sales. Nine warrants executed at addresses in Bridgwater, Wolverhampton and London led to arrests of four men and three women, recovery of significant sums of Class A drugs, cash, weapons, ammunition and a stab vest.

Part of a county lines drug gang transporting Class A drugs from the West Midlands to Bridgwater.
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Ubayd Jimale
Date not specified
Being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine *
Sentence
four years and six months' imprisonment

Ubayd Jimale, of Watford Road in Wembley, was involved in transporting class A drugs including heroin and cocaine to Bridgwater from London between December 2020 and March 2021 as part of a county lines operation. He was arrested as part of a joint investigation between Avon & Somerset Police and the Metropolitan Police.

Pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine. Led the operation.
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Valentinas Michailovas
Date not specified
Robbery *
Sentence
6 years imprisonment

Valentinas Michailovas, 24, of Marl Close in Yeovil, carried out two robberies against the same victim in Yeovil. On 15 August 2021, he led a male victim to a cash machine, forced him to withdraw money and took it. Two days later, he broke into the same victim’s home in the early hours, holding a knife, and forced him to withdraw more cash from an ATM. Over the night of 20/21 August 2021, a second victim in Yeovil reported his home broken into; Michailovas admitted handling stolen goods from this burglary.

Pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, one count of handling stolen goods and one of fraudulently using someone else’s bank cards. Judge James Townsend noted previous convictions for similar offences in Lithuania. Given restraining orders to prevent contact with victims.
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Wayne Stanley Shortland
Date not specified
Burglary *
Sentence
18 months imprisonment

Wayne Stanley Shortland broke into the victim’s home in the St Johns Road area of Yeovil in April 2018 and stole a handbag containing cash and bank cards. He was identified as a suspect following a review of CCTV footage and enquiries made with local residents.

Aged 35, from Horsey Lane in Yeovil. Appeared at court where he admitted a charge of burglary and was sentenced for this and a previous offence for which he initially received a conditional discharge.
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Disclaimer: The information on this page is compiled from publicly available court records and published media reports. It is provided strictly for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as a definitive record of any individual's criminal history or legal status.

Offence names marked with an asterisk (*) reflect descriptions used in media reporting and may not correspond to the formal legal charge or indictment. Sentencing details are as reported and may be subject to subsequent appeal, variation, or correction by the courts.

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Crown Court
United Kingdom

About Taunton Crown Court

Taunton Crown Court is a Crown Court that handles serious criminal cases including murder, rape, robbery, and other indictable offences. With 124 sentencing records in our database, it processes cases heard before a judge and jury, with the power to impose the full range of sentences available under UK law.

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