York Crown Court Sentencing Results

On 26 January 2021, Jonathan Eaves was driving a bus northbound on the A19 near Easingwold when he approached a cyclist travelling in the same direction. As he overtook, the bus swerved to the right, making contact with the cyclist's handlebar grip, crossed the centre white lines, and collided with an oncoming Audi driven by the victim. The victim, 27, suffered serious injuries and died in hospital the same day. The cyclist had been clearly visible, including a hi-vis jacket, reflective rucksack straps, and a flashing rear light. Police collision investigators determined the cyclist would have been visible to the bus driver for more than 30 seconds before the impact.

John Henry Medd Taylor, a rogue builder, was paid £10,000 by a Stokesley resident to provide tiles, granite worktop, and bathroom fixings which were never delivered. He also claimed to have installed a windpost into the wall of a stable conversion, but the installation did not meet building regulations and had to be redone by another builder.

Kyril John McClean engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl in 2016. He was convicted after a week-long trial in March 2019 and sentenced today at York Crown Court by Judge Andrew Stubbs. North Yorkshire Police praised the bravery of the victim and witnesses.

On 25 January 2025, at a block of flats in Scarborough, Laurentiu Ardeleanu and an accomplice carried out a premeditated stabbing and beating of a 30-year-old man. The victim suffered a chest stab wound and a severe head gash, and was airlifted for specialist care. The pair fled and were caught days later returning through the Euro Tunnel in Kent. The judge described the attack as dangerous, violent and potentially fatal.

Callum Godfrey, 33, a chef from Great Langton, was made subject to a sexual-harm prevention order in 2019 for previous offences of making indecent images of children. The order banned him from deleting his internet history and required him to notify police of any new computer devices. In February 2022, during an unannounced visit, police found a Samsung tablet he had not disclosed, containing 26 indecent images of minors. After his arrest, he initially denied having other devices but later admitted to the tablet. He was released under investigation but on May 26 and again in June, he lied to police about possessing only one mobile phone; two more undeclared mobiles were found, and he had been deleting his browsing history. Godfrey pleaded guilty to four breaches of the order and one count of making Category C indecent images. He was jailed for two years, with a new 10-year sexual-harm prevention order and registration on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

Bethany De Cogan, a 21-year-old from Kilburn, was sentenced for repeatedly making nuisance calls to the ambulance service and causing the A19 to be closed on two occasions by threatening to jump off a bridge at the junction of the A19 and A170 at Thirsk. In February 2020, she was spotted by motorists appearing to try to jump off the bridge, and police found her being restrained by members of the public; she had drunk a bottle of vodka and said she intended to jump. She was in breach of a criminal behaviour order imposed by York magistrates in November 2019, which banned her from calling 999 except in a genuine emergency and prohibited drinking in public in Hambleton district. In subsequent months, she made further calls to the ambulance service, threatened self-harm, and on several more occasions went to the same bridge, dangling from the edge, causing the A19 to be closed both ways for a considerable time. She also spat inside a police van during an arrest. She had a history of trespassing on railway lines, causing train delays, and had 20 previous convictions for 40 offences. She admitted six charges including breaches of the criminal behaviour order and making nuisance calls to the emergency services.

Billy Morrison, a disqualified driver from Barnsley, fled from police and reached speeds of 111mph before crashing into a line of traffic on the A61 at Skipton on Swale in September 2020. A female passenger in her 80s in one of the struck vehicles suffered 11 bone fractures, and his own passenger was also seriously hurt, leading to life-changing injuries. Morrison had been banned from driving only three weeks earlier and continued to drive illegally without insurance, while unfit through drink or drugs. He initially lied about driving but later admitted the offences.

Angus Baillie, 72, managed and lived at the Station Hotel in Pickering. A routine environmental health inspection of the kitchen in 2018 found dirty and unhygienic food preparation areas along with a fly infestation. He was charged following the inspection but went off grid in Scotland the following year, failing to appear in court. An arrest warrant was issued after he was found guilty in his absence.

Anthony Christopher McDonagh, 22, drove Eamon McDonagh from Blackburn to North Yorkshire on 7 April 2019. They used counterfeit Scottish £50 notes, researched and created using online tutorials, stampers and ultra-violet ink, in shops in Northallerton, Thirsk and Helmsley, obtaining low-value items and genuine change. They used an unregistered Nissan X-Trail with false plates and carried a change of clothes to avoid detection. Police arrested them near Ampleforth the next day after a brief foot chase. Over £833 in genuine cash was found in the vehicle. The total fraudulent gain was about £1,200.

On 15 May 2022, Drew Mattocks drove a Ford Fiesta dangerously through Scarborough town centre, driving on the wrong side of the road, going the wrong way down one-way streets, and mounting a pavement to pass a van, narrowly missing pedestrians. He had taken the car keys from his friend after drinking at the Grand Hotel. Police attempted to stop him, but he sped off, switching off the car's lights. He abandoned the car and was arrested shortly after, found with a small amount of cannabis.

Eamon McDonagh, 41, travelled with Anthony Christopher McDonagh from Blackburn to North Yorkshire on 7 April 2019. They used counterfeit Scottish £50 notes, researched and created using online tutorials, stampers and ultra-violet ink, in shops in Northallerton, Thirsk and Helmsley, obtaining low-value items and genuine change. They used an unregistered Nissan X-Trail with false plates and carried a change of clothes to avoid detection. Police arrested them near Ampleforth the next day after a brief foot chase. Over £833 in genuine cash was found in the vehicle. The total fraudulent gain was about £1,200.

During the Covid lockdown, Charlie Boocock searched the internet for indecent images of children. Police seized devices in September 2021 and found 162 indecent images, including 79 Category A (the worst kind) and 13 extreme pornographic images of bestiality. He used KIK messenger to chat with others about his sexual interest in children. He initially claimed images were unsolicited but later admitted the offences.

70-year-old motorist drove into the back wheel of a cyclist riding an e-bike with his wife in Filey Brigg Country Park, causing him to fall. Gallagher exited his car with clenched fists shouting 'I’m going to batter you'. After the cyclist remounted, Gallagher rammed him again onto the bonnet and windscreen. He then performed a U-turn and clipped the rider once more as the couple moved onto grass. The cyclist suffered long-term shoulder and neck pain and feared for his life.

Louis Duxbury, a student at York St John University, posted a 17-minute video on Facebook shortly after a series of terrorist attacks in 2017, saying Muslims should be 'wiped off the face of the earth' and issuing a 'call to arms'. A fellow student reported the video to the university and police. Duxbury was expelled from the university and evicted from his apartment. York Crown Court found him guilty of inciting religious hatred after hearing he had previously been reported to police for far-right views.

Karl Swales, 47, removed all smoke detectors from a fully-occupied apartment block before setting fire to a pizza box and clothing in his doorway at the three-storey building in Trafalgar Square, Scarborough. The fire was discovered smouldering by the landlord drifting down the stairway.

On 12 July 2021, after watching the England v Italy European Championship final, Max Reed took his girlfriend's Audi without her knowledge or insurance and drove to a garage for cigarettes. Police spotted the car without lights on the A168 near Thirsk. Reed sped away, reaching 90mph on the A168 and then 80–90mph through Topcliffe village in a 30mph zone. He briefly outran a police BMW 330, but crashed when the car overturned on a sharp bend. Reed fled on foot but was caught. His passenger was found suspended upside down, dazed and confused. A breath test showed Reed was almost twice the legal drink‑drive limit.

Barnes was involved in blackmailing a woman over a three-week period in July 2024. The victim was forced to hand over a PlayStation 5, an Apple Watch and two payments of £100 after threats over a debt.

Melissa Kenyon, formerly known as Melissa Gedge, of Scarborough, was convicted of two counts of breaching her Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to comply with notification requirements. She had secretly moved into a flat with an accused child rapist and had unauthorised contact with a young girl, hiding her address and relationships from authorities. She was caught following a phone search by North Yorkshire Police in May 2020, which uncovered photos of a young girl.