Worcester Crown Court Sentencing Results

Peter Burrow was driving a car that left the road and collided with a group of pedestrians on Church Street in Malvern on 8 August 2023. One pedestrian died of her injuries the following day, and two others were left with serious injuries.

Oliver Dines, a former West Mercia Police officer, abused his position by subjecting two women to inappropriate behaviour while on duty in Herefordshire. In October 2020, he met woman A during her arrest, asked if she was single, took her home, commented on her clothing, inappropriately touched her, sent over 50 messages while on duty, and sent a Facebook friend request. In September 2020, he dealt with woman B's assault report, sent sexualised and explicit messages from work and personal phones, asked for pictures which she refused, continued messaging despite her requests to stop, made unnecessary home visits, and inappropriately touched her on one occasion.

Mark Biddle was arrested in June 2023 after a woman and her young child reported being assaulted between January and June 2023, causing them both injuries. The court heard he subjected the victim and her young child to a campaign of domestic violence and abuse. He pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation, child cruelty, assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Cockbill was arrested in December 2023 following an investigation by West Mercia Police’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET). A category B indecent image of a child was found on his phone, along with evidence of a conversation in which he discussed his intention to commit a sexual act on a five-year-old child. The offences took place in April and June 2023.

Julian Davis, 62, from Stourport-on-Severn, was arrested on December 4, 2024, following an operation by West Mercia Police’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team. Officers found cable ties, handcuffs, a whip, lubricant, amphetamine drugs, Viagra, baby wipes, and mobile phones in his vehicle in Worcester. He was charged on December 5 with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, possession of a controlled drug (Class B – amphetamine), and arranging/facilitating commission of an offence of sexual activity with a child/cause/incite child to engage in penetration.

Thomas Barnett was driving along the B4211 Worcester Road near Hanley Castle on 23 January 2024 when he was involved in a head-on collision with a Ford Mondeo. The driver of the Mondeo, a 37-year-old man, died from his injuries. Barnett had previously pleaded guilty to drink driving and causing death by driving without due care and attention.

Royston Gill abused his victims between September 1996 and February 2002 in Worcester. He was found guilty on 3 counts of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 years, 6 counts of indecent assault, and 1 count of indecency with a child. Gill denied the offences during police interviews. The case was prosecuted by Rebbeca Wade KC. He was remanded into custody after the guilty verdict on 3 July 2024.

Holly LeGresley discovered the online monkey hate community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her involvement escalated; she became 'admin' in a Telegram group, welcoming new members, helping access videos and photographs of monkeys being tortured, archiving content into a library of thousands of images and videos, setting up polls for members to vote on torture types, directing payments for videos, and contributing financially herself. She watched and shared the content, expressing delight.

Adriana Orme discovered the online monkey hate community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her involvement escalated through private messaging platforms like Telegram and Discord, linking with organisers. She contributed financially to the production of torture videos of monkeys being abused, tortured and killed in Indonesia.

On 31 July 2023, Isac Calderon’s car hit a nurse on the A4103 near Shucknall, leaving her with severe injuries and unable to walk. After initially cooperating with police, Calderon failed to appear in court and fled to the USA. A UK warrant was issued for his arrest on 1 December 2023. He was arrested in Texas on 14 July 2024 and extradited back to the UK, appearing at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on 10 October 2024 where he pleaded guilty.

Mohammed Mutasir groomed a 15-year-old girl from Redditch via social media in April 2022. He supplied her with cocaine and sexually abused her in a car park in Birmingham on multiple occasions, repeating the pattern of supplying drugs before assaulting her.

Matthew Jenkins engaged in sexual communication online with a profile of a 13-year-old child. He sent videos of himself masturbating and incited the child profile to masturbate. He was arrested in May 2022 by West Mercia Police’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team at his home in Redditch, where photographs were taken of clothing matching those sent during the chat.

Fars Mtawea, 46, of London, subjected his victim to abuse in Evesham, including making threats to kill.

Kai Stretton, of Worcester, operated a busy County Lines drug line bringing crack cocaine and heroin into Worcester and selling Class A drugs to vulnerable people in the city. West Mercia Police, from the South Worcestershire County Lines Team, seized phones which provided evidence of his operation.

Joe-Lewis Tyler, after consuming approximately five pints of lager and four rounds of Sambuca and Jagermeister shots, drove a stolen BMW while under the influence of alcohol (up to 215 milligrams per 100ml of blood, exceeding the legal limit of 80ml) and drugs (high levels of cocaine and cannabis). He drove at high speed without a seatbelt, nearly colliding with other vehicles, and crashed into a taxi in February 2024, killing a six-year-old child, the taxi driver, 26, and a 39-year-old woman who was escorting the child.

Umar Dawood, 36, of Redditch, was caught grooming a child online by West Mercia Police’s Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET). He caused a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Benjamin Holmes, 31, of Wolverhampton, preyed on a five-year-old girl in Worcester, causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity. His phone was seized following arrest, upon which first-generation images were recovered depicting his abuse.

Craig Carnell engaged in online communications with an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old boy on a website for adults. He was aware of the boy's claimed age, responding dismissively to it, and arranged to meet for sexual activity. He travelled to the meeting location in his car, where police found evidence of planning for mutual oral sex. The offences occurred in late 2023, leading to his arrest and conviction.

Ervis Akulli was involved in the production of cannabis at a property in Worcester. On November 30, police raided the property and found 129 cannabis plants growing in the cellar, dining room, and two bedrooms, along with drug paraphernalia such as timers, lights, fertilisers, and ventilation equipment. White sheets covered walls and floors to increase humidity. Akulli had two mobile phones and £200 cash on him, and he was in the country illegally after being refused entry in 2021. He had a significant role in the crime and gave a no comment interview after his arrest.

Garry Jones, a factory worker at Harvey & Brockless Fine Food Company in Evesham, Worcestershire, deliberately tampered with food products destined for high street restaurants including Nando’s and the Ivy Group. In October 2022, he contaminated items such as hummus, salad dressings, and raw ingredients by adding non-food items like plastic bags, metal ring pulls, and an unknown substance, as captured on factory CCTV. He also admitted to combining fish sauce with soy sauce on one occasion. The contamination occurred in the storage area during his late shift as a picker. An internal investigation led to his identification, arrest on 10 November 2022, and subsequent guilty plea.