York Crown Court Sentencing Results

Between August and December 2023, Jason Hepworth and Andrew Johnson stole from or attempted to steal from over 40 vehicles across North Yorkshire, targeting vehicles in at least seven towns and villages including Whitby, Malton and Pickering. They operated under cover of darkness, often trying door handles and breaking into vehicles. The incidents included stealing £400 of tools from a work van in Malton, cash, loose change, Ray-Ban sunglasses and a woman's house keys. During the four-month period, 44 thefts or attempted thefts were reported to police. Hepworth admitted conspiracy to steal and had 77 previous offences, about half of which were thefts.

Between August and December 2023, Andrew Johnson and Jason Hepworth stole from or attempted to steal from over 40 vehicles across North Yorkshire, targeting vehicles in at least seven towns and villages including Whitby, Malton and Pickering. They operated under cover of darkness, often trying door handles and breaking into vehicles. The incidents included stealing £400 of tools from a work van in Malton, cash, loose change, Ray-Ban sunglasses and a woman's house keys. During the four-month period, 44 thefts or attempted thefts were reported to police. Johnson admitted conspiracy to steal and had 54 previous offences including theft and numerous convictions for vehicle interference.

Carl Andrew Stevenson drove the victim to remote locations and engaged in sexual activity with her in his car on numerous occasions more than a decade ago. He told her that if she told anyone she would be put into care, keeping her in constant fear. The victim reported the offences in 2022, but Stevenson denied any wrongdoing and showed no remorse. A jury at York Crown Court found him guilty and he was sentenced on 23 July 2026.

Stephen Davies, 27, of no fixed address in Huddersfield, was jailed for coercive and controlling behaviour against a woman in the Kirklees area between August and November 2025. He admitted the offence on the first day of his trial and was also made subject to a 15-year restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.

Joshua Donnelly attacked a 38-year-old man at Flamingo Land Resort in Kirby Misperton just after 1am on 18 September 2025. He took a four-inch black-handled knife from a caravan kitchen drawer and stabbed the victim three times in the abdomen during a domestic dispute when the victim tried to calm the situation. The victim was on a family holiday in a nearby caravan, suffered a punctured colon, and required emergency surgery. Donnelly fled but was later arrested in a car after police enquiries. The discarded knife was found in bushes and forensically linked.

Noah Munson, 21, from Ripon, struck a woman with such force during an argument on Queen Street in September 2023 that she was knocked to the ground, suffering two large cuts to her head. While on bail for the assault, he was reported by a second woman for repeated harassment and coercive control, including threats and physical violence. He admitted to two assaults and controlling or coercive behaviour.

Ashley Parr, 35, of Moorland Drive, Guiseley, led police on a dangerous chase on July 21, 2025, after a member of the public reported his vehicle driving dangerously on the A166 near Garrowby Hill. The vehicle was registered to an address in Leeds. Parr failed to stop and reached speeds of 140mph on roads including the A64 and A1. He careered through the air over a roundabout, with the BMW rolling several times before landing in a hedge. He was drugged-up during the incident.

Matthew Hull, 22, from Sherburn-in-Elmet, performed a dangerous overtake on the B1222 near Sherburn-in-Elmet on 27 May 2024, driving a Renault Clio Sport. He overtook on a stretch of road with limited visibility due to a hidden dip and crest, entering the wrong lane and colliding head-on with motorcyclist the victim, 65, who died at the scene. Hull admitted in a police interview that he made a stupid overtake due to impatience.

Ashton Kevin Fredrick Saunders, 37, previously of Chesham, ran a sham recruitment service through NJP Recruitment Ltd, posting adverts for non-existent jobs between November 2014 and February 2016. He tricked dozens of jobseekers across the UK into paying between £70 and £100 each for fake DBS and criminal record checks, moving nearly £18,000 of victims’ money through his bank accounts and transferring funds overseas to Thailand. Victims submitted CVs, completed application forms, and in many cases took part in telephone interviews for roles that did not exist. They were then told they had been successful and required to pay for a DBS check before starting work, directed to fake websites operated by associates. Some victims received DBS certificates, while many did not. The scam exploited unemployed people desperate for work, stealing their money and crushing their hopes. One man, unemployed for months, thought he had found work only to discover it was fake. Another woman moved to Leeds from Shropshire, paid six months’ rent in advance, and was left without income when the job never materialised. After failing to attend court on 1 February 2017, he fled to Thailand, was detained in August 2025 after deportation, and remanded in custody since.

Ronald Pearson was convicted of 24 non-recent child sexual abuse offences against five girls in the Ryedale area. The offences occurred over a period spanning more than 30 years, when the victims were aged between 5 and 18. They included three counts of rape of a female under 16, sexual assault on a female, assault of a girl under 13 by touching, assault of a girl under 13 by penetration, indecent assault on a girl under 14, causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, and engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15. One victim disclosed abuse in 2022; further victims were identified, including one traced in February 2023 following a 2004 complaint. Pearson denied the offences but was found guilty after trial. In addition to the custodial sentence, he was made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Jonathan Waldron, a Yorkshire waste operator, was sentenced at York Crown Court after illegally acting as a director of four companies while bankrupt.

Jack David Anthony Merry, 25, of Union Street, Scarborough, set upon a 20-year-old man as he walked with friends in Aberdeen Walk near the old job centre building on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at around 10.45pm. Merry was riding a bike when he confronted the man, chased him down, punched and kicked him after he fell to the floor, and then stamped on his head while he lay unconscious. Witnesses filmed the attack and feared the victim was dead; the victim escaped with relatively minor injuries but suffered great trauma.

Andrew Philip Russell, 35, from Pontefract, conducted a campaign of stalking involving serious alarm or distress against his victim over almost two years in the Selby district. While in a relationship with another woman, he manipulated and controlled the victim by masquerading as her imprisoned ex-partner, sending threatening messages from fake social media accounts, fitting a tracking device to her car, attempting to hack her accounts, breaking into her house, disabling her wifi and security cameras, and making threatening phone calls to her and her family. The victim, initially believing the threats came from her ex-partner who had assaulted her, lived in constant fear, refused to attend court, and was forced to move home multiple times with her children. Russell was caught via CCTV topping up a phone used in the stalking. The abuse caused profound mental health impacts, anxiety, and instability for the victim and her children.

Grant Morgan Cowlishaw was in a relationship with the victim for several years and subjected her to controlling and coercive behaviour from April 2021 until March 2025. The behaviour included using violence on at least three occasions, repeatedly degrading her with verbal remarks, and monitoring her phone use. After the relationship ended in February 2025, the abuse continued into March 2025, with Cowlishaw breaching his bail conditions by repeatedly sending messages to the victim and turning up at a relative's home.

Between April and June 2024, Timothy Glen Jarrett, 45, of Flaxman Croft, Copmanthorpe, York, supplied drugs and alcohol to teenage girls in exchange for sexual acts, which he filmed on his phone and shared with others, including at least one video with one of the victims and two videos with two acquaintances. He drove one victim to his home where he provided drugs and alcohol before having sex with her, which he recorded. His actions targeted vulnerable teenage girls for his own sexual gratification.

Oliver Hartley, 24, of Bentley Lane, Meanwood, Leeds, stole his mother's black Audi A7 from her home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, after spending the evening drinking. He went on an intoxicated joyride, speeding southbound on the A6055 between Catterick and Leeming Bar at around 2.18am on August 1, 2021. Location data showed he travelled up and down the A1(M) and A6055 seven times, exceeding speed limits, reaching speeds of 95-105mph immediately before the collision and at least 72mph at impact. He was driving on the incorrect side of the road when he smashed head-on into the 65-year-old victim's blue Kia Ceed. The victim was returning home to Tunstall after babysitting her grandchildren and died at the scene. Hartley recorded 119-203mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, above the legal limit of 80mg.

Marcus Lee Noble, aged 26 from York, sexually abused an underage teenage girl when he was 23. He took full advantage of her age for his own sexual gratification. The conviction followed a police investigation, during which Noble lied and failed to provide the passcode to his mobile phone.

John Andrew Smith, 24, from Byram, Selby, was driving a van belonging to his friend without insurance or a licence. On June 17, 2023, after leaving a pub in Eggborough, he ran a red light, approached a sharp bend at high speed, and misjudged an overtake on the A645 Weeland Road, resulting in a head-on collision with another vehicle. This crash killed his friend and seriously injured the other driver, who required multiple operations and now faces reduced mobility.

Joshua Anthony Strickland and an accomplice forced their way into a man's home, poured petrol over him, and set him on fire, causing grievous bodily harm. He later intimidated a witness and assaulted a police officer.

Robinson Peter Fitch Binks and an accomplice forced their way into a man's home and set him on fire by pouring petrol over him, causing grievous bodily harm.

Joel Humberstone, 27, of Woodville Square, Leeds, targeted an 11-year-old girl walking to school in Ripon on June 11, 2024, by lifting her skirt and taking a photo. He was chased by witnesses but escaped initially; his phone was later seized after police identified him.

Ian Horsman engaged in online conversations involving sexual communication with individuals he believed to be girls aged 14 and 12 on September 2 and September 16, 2023. These interactions were with decoys from an Online Child Activist Group (OCAG). He was confronted by the OCAG on Dunslow Road, Eastfield, on September 16, 2023, leading to police involvement. Evidence of sexual grooming was handed over to the authorities, resulting in his arrest and subsequent charges.

On 28 June 2024, Matthew Curtis was ejected from the Unicorn pub in Newbiggin and The Talbot pub in Market Place, Richmond, for drunken behaviour. He later kicked a window at the Golden Lion causing £100 damage. He returned to the Unicorn covered in blood, brandishing a kitchen knife, and threatened to stab someone. The landlady calmed him and he was arrested. He had been drinking vodka while on a keto diet, causing memory blackout. He had prior convictions and was on bail for drink-driving and threatening behaviour.

Macauley Barry Robert Nesfield subjected his partner to years of domestic abuse, including coercive and controlling behaviour, assault, and wounding. He split her head open in an incident that left her and her baby covered in blood, causing her to seek help. The offences occurred between 2021 and 2014, during which she lived in fear and was manipulated by him.