Wolverhampton Crown Court Sentencing Results

Sarwat Raouf was involved in an organised crime group that sold illegal tobacco worth an estimated £700,000 from European Food Express on Dudley High Street between August 2016 and December 2018. The group possessed and sold counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and tobacco products, with authorities discovering hidden compartments containing thousands of untaxed cigarettes during searches.

Julie Atkins received fraudulent payments into her account from Laurna Porter, who defrauded over £634,000 from the estates of 23 deceased individuals over 13 years. A portion of the money was later transferred back to Porter. The fraud involved money intended for beneficiaries including life-saving charities such as Cancer Research and Great Ormond Street Hospital. The offences were uncovered during an audit following a discrepancy in a will involving a £5,000 payment to Atkins.

Chadney Ferguson stabbed another man multiple times in Lahmber Way, West Bromwich on May 9, 2023, causing significant but non-life-threatening injuries. He fled the scene and was later arrested in August 2023 following police appeals. Additionally, he threatened to hurt a woman while carrying a brick in Walsall Road, Stone Cross in July 2023. The incidents involved extreme violence, and he was apprehended through public information and police action.

On Easter Sunday 2024, James Davis, 35, of Walsall, was driving an unregistered BMW at 67mph in a 30mph zone in a shopping area of Brownhills, Walsall. While using his phone, he veered over the centre line, collided with an oncoming car, mounted the pavement, and crashed into the pram of a two-week-old baby, who was out for the first time with his parents. The impact caused fatal head and body injuries to the baby, who died in hospital. Davis fled the scene, later admitting to a passer-by that he had killed a baby. He claimed a blackout but the court rejected this, finding phone distraction as the cause. The baby's mother suffered a broken collarbone.

Bladon Roper participated in a gang's multimillion-pound fake Xanax operation, which involved producing counterfeit tablets using pill press machines and distributing them via the dark net. The gang exported tablets internationally and laundered proceeds through Bitcoin, with evidence found during police raids in the Black Country.

Katie Harlow was involved in laundering money from a gang's counterfeit Xanax operation, which produced and sold fake tablets on the dark net. The scheme included global exports and the use of Bitcoin, with investigations tracing financial flows linked to the gang's activities.

Paul Roberts, 62, of Wordsley, committed multiple sex offences against children, including gross indecency and indecent assaults on boys and girls under 14 and 16, causing children under 13 to watch sexual images, and inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity. The offences involved manipulation and abuse that the victim carried for years before reporting to police. He was convicted after a trial.

Erjon Aliaj, 35, of no fixed address, was behind the wheel of a white Mercedes when he lost control at speed nearing a bend in Thimblemill Road, Smethwick, on August 28, 2023. The car mounted the kerb and smashed into four cars, including the one the victim, 62, was stepping out of after being dropped off at home by a colleague. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene despite paramedics' efforts. Aliaj was arrested at the scene.

Tyrone Moran, a 19-year-old from Holcroft Road, Oldswinford, hit pedestrian the victim, aged 27, as she was crossing the road on a pedestrian crossing on Thorns Road in Quarry Bank on September 29, 2023, at around 8pm. He fled the scene, leaving her for dead, and the car was found abandoned nearby. Moran handed himself in at a police station later that evening, and the victim was declared dead at the scene.

On April 15, Omari Johnson-Thomas, 24, was in a Skoda car pulled over by police near Goldthorn Hill in Wolverhampton. A search revealed a loaded modified firearm hidden in a carrier bag on the back seat, along with seven rounds of live ammunition and £1,000 in cash. He was arrested and charged shortly after.

On April 15, Tyreique Hislop, 22, was in a Skoda car pulled over by police near Goldthorn Hill in Wolverhampton. A search revealed a loaded modified firearm hidden in a carrier bag on the back seat, along with seven rounds of live ammunition and £1,000 in cash. He was arrested and charged shortly after.

Alex Westwood, an actor known for roles in Netflix's Sex Education and BBC's Doctors, committed 26 sexual offences against five victims, four of whom were children at the time of abuse, over an 11-year period. He used his minor celebrity status to prey on impressionable young girls under the guise of acting lessons. Specific instances include raping and sexually assaulting two 16-year-old pupils between November 2020 and September 2021, and May to August 2021 respectively, forcing them to act out inappropriate scenes. He also systematically abused a young girl for seven years, including forcing her to drink his urine.

Mohammed Sullaiman Khan was driving his Audi RS3 at speeds up to 92mph in a 40mph zone, engaging in competitive driving against a Bentley, when he crashed into a BMW driven by the victim in Birmingham New Road, Wolverhampton, on March 14, 2019. The collision killed her two sons, the older son (10 years old) and the younger son (23 months old), who were in their pyjamas after collecting a meal, and seriously injured the victim with damage to her coccyx and three displaced spinal fractures. He fled the scene, returned later but did not surrender, and attempted to cover up the incident with assistance from his brother.

Mohammed Asim Khan made a false report to West Midlands Police claiming that his brother's Audi had been stolen in a burglary on the night of the crash, March 14, 2019, in an attempt to obstruct the police investigation into the fatal collision.

Darren Pritchard's two American bulldogs escaped through a hole in the garden fence and mauled his 85-year-old neighbour, the victim, who had dementia, to death in her own garden on April 2, 2021. Pritchard was at work at the time, and the dogs attacked her, causing fatal injuries to her neck and leg. Neighbours and the victim's daughter witnessed the attack and had to barricade themselves inside a house until Pritchard returned to intervene. Police searches of his home revealed cannabis with a street value of nearly £20,000, cannabis plants, and cash bundles totalling around £35,000. Neighbours had previously reported Pritchard mistreating the dogs.

John Griffiths participated in a depraved 21-person child sex abuse ring that targeted seven children under 13 in the Walsall and Wolverhampton areas over almost a decade. The campaign was prolonged and sustained, causing victims to suffer terrible psychological damage, including trauma and PTSD.

Matthew Evans was part of a 21-person child sex abuse ring that systematically abused seven children under 13 over nearly 10 years in the Walsall and Wolverhampton areas. The abuse involved using children as sexual objects, leading to severe psychological harm, including PTSD, depression, and suicidal attempts among victims.

Natasha Webb was part of a large child sex abuse ring involving 21 people that systematically abused seven children under 13 in the Walsall and Wolverhampton areas over almost a decade. The offences caused extreme psychological harm to victims, including trauma and PTSD.

Violet Griffiths was involved in a 21-person child sex abuse ring that abused seven children under 13 over nearly 10 years in the Walsall and Wolverhampton areas. The abuse left victims psychologically damaged, with some experiencing psychotic episodes, depression, and PTSD.

David Smith, aged 36, was part of a five-strong gang known as the 'Sticky Bandits' that targeted businesses across the West Midlands, including in Kidderminster, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Tamworth, and Shrewsbury. The gang conducted raids in 2022, primarily over the Christmas period, stealing machines and metals worth £1.6 million from industrial units and factories. They used heavy-duty machinery to steal goods, sold metal to scrap dealers, and left messages like 'Ha ha. Merry Xmas, Happy New Year' at one site after torching a lorry. The gang was caught using CCTV and phone records, causing total losses of £1.6 million in materials and vehicles, £200,000 in building damage, and over £800,000 in additional costs.

David Williams, aged 44, was part of a five-strong gang known as the 'Sticky Bandits' that targeted businesses across the West Midlands, including in Kidderminster, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Tamworth, and Shrewsbury. The gang conducted raids in 2022, primarily over the Christmas period, stealing machines and metals worth £1.6 million from industrial units and factories. They used heavy-duty machinery to steal goods, sold metal to scrap dealers, and left messages like 'Ha ha. Merry Xmas, Happy New Year' at one site after torching a lorry. The gang was caught using CCTV and phone records, causing total losses of £1.6 million in materials and vehicles, £200,000 in building damage, and over £800,000 in additional costs.

Adam Shakespeare, aged 31, was part of a five-strong gang known as the 'Sticky Bandits' that targeted businesses across the West Midlands, including in Kidderminster, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Tamworth, and Shrewsbury. The gang conducted raids in 2022, primarily over the Christmas period, stealing machines and metals worth £1.6 million from industrial units and factories. They used heavy-duty machinery to steal goods, sold metal to scrap dealers, and left messages like 'Ha ha. Merry Xmas, Happy New Year' at one site after torching a lorry. The gang was caught using CCTV and phone records, causing total losses of £1.6 million in materials and vehicles, £200,000 in building damage, and over £800,000 in additional costs.

Royston Hallard, aged 30, was part of a five-strong gang known as the 'Sticky Bandits' that targeted businesses across the West Midlands, including in Kidderminster, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Tamworth, and Shrewsbury. The gang conducted raids in 2022, primarily over the Christmas period, stealing machines and metals worth £1.6 million from industrial units and factories. They used heavy-duty machinery to steal goods, sold metal to scrap dealers, and left messages like 'Ha ha. Merry Xmas, Happy New Year' at one site after torching a lorry. The gang was caught using CCTV and phone records, causing total losses of £1.6 million in materials and vehicles, £200,000 in building damage, and over £800,000 in additional costs.

Lee Fletcher, aged 33, was part of a five-strong gang known as the 'Sticky Bandits' that targeted businesses across the West Midlands, including in Kidderminster, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Tamworth, and Shrewsbury. The gang conducted raids in 2022, primarily over the Christmas period, stealing machines and metals worth £1.6 million from industrial units and factories. They used heavy-duty machinery to steal goods, sold metal to scrap dealers, and left messages like 'Ha ha. Merry Xmas, Happy New Year' at one site after torching a lorry. The gang was caught using CCTV and phone records, causing total losses of £1.6 million in materials and vehicles, £200,000 in building damage, and over £800,000 in additional costs.

On July 26, 2016, Dylan Kalubi, aged 22, went to a flat in Spon End, Coventry, confronted a man over an alleged £25 unpaid drug debt, produced a knife from his pocket, and stabbed the victim nine times in a frenzied attack. The victim was found in a hallway with heavy bleeding and drifting in and out of consciousness. CCTV footage showed Kalubi entering the block of flats wearing a distinctive hooded McKenzie top, which was later recovered from a rubbish chute with both Kalubi’s and the victim’s blood on it. The victim made a full recovery but was left with scars. Additionally, on May 29, 2016, Kalubi knocked a man unconscious with a mop handle during trouble at So Club Room in Coventry, then punched and kicked him in the head while he lay defenceless, and threatened other clubbers with his belt. The injured man suffered facial fractures, a bleed on the brain, was placed in an induced coma for 20 days, and now has permanent blurred vision in his right eye.

Darren Coffey stole a 24-tonne bulldozer valued at £385,000 and removed its vehicle tracker before driving it dangerously through Wolverhampton city centre in November 2025. The rampage damaged street furniture, disrupted road users, included reversing into oncoming traffic and police cars, and involved smashing into a Royal Mail lorry. During the incident he contacted police and threatened to burn down a local motors business, saying he was heading there with petrol cans. He pleaded guilty to nine charges, and the judge deemed the offences too severe for a community order.