DRUG dealers, predators and burglars are among the Cheshire criminals who have been put behind bars in 2023.
Here is a round up of some of the biggest court cases from the past year:
Robert Noden
A man who sexually assaulted two children in the town over several years when he was a teenager threatened them with a knife and warned them not to tell anyone.
Robert Noden, of Carlisle Close, Winsford, was found guilty of 19 counts of sexual offences against children following a one-week trial at Chester Crown Court.
The offences included four counts of rape of a girl under 16; two counts of committing buggery with a boy under 16; eight counts of indecent assault on a child under 14 and five counts of gross indecency on a child under 14.
He was sentenced to 14 years in prison at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
Lewis Roberts
A drug dealer who was found with a large ball of crack cocaine hidden between his buttocks in Northwich has been jailed for more than three years.
Lewis Roberts appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, February 1, after previously pleading guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Roberts was jailed for 44 months.
Stephen Clapham and Sally Shaw
A vicar and his mistress have been jailed after engaging in sexual activity in front of a child and involving them in their 'warped' behaviour.
Stephen Clapham, of Northwood Avenue, Middlewich, was the vicar at All Saints Church in Crewe in 2016 when he began an affair with Sally Shaw.
The pair engaged in sexual activity in front of a child and incited that child to become involved. Shaw, aged 52, also took indecent photos of the child and passed them to Clapham.
Clapham and Shaw were both jailed for four years and were put on the sex offenders' register for life.
Stephen Hemming
A woman believed she was going to die when her ex-boyfriend forced his way into her house and strangled her in a jealous rage.
Stephen Hemming forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s home and attacked her.
The personal trainer had met the victim, originally from Goostrey, in 2019 at the gym where he worked, and the two struck-up a romantic relationship.
Former Holmes Chapel student Hemming appeared at Chester Crown Court to be sentenced on Wednesday, April 12, after being convicted of one count of intentional strangulation and one of assault by beating at a trial in Warrington on March 13.
Hemming was jailed for two years.
Julie Finney and Marcus Finney
A mum and son have been jailed after cannabis and cocaine were discovered in drug busts at their family home in Alderley Edge.
Julie Finney and Marcus Finney appeared at Chester Crown Court and were sentenced for conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.
The pair had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Marcus Finney was handed a four-and-a-half-year jail-term while Julie Finney received three years.
Dominic Feterson
A drug dealer from Delamere was jailed for more than two years and deprived of a quantity of drugs and various weapons - including four machetes and three knives.
Dominic Feterson, of Frith Avenue, appeared at Chester Crown Court on April 24 after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of possession with intent to supply a class A drug, and one count of possession of a class B drug.
Judge Michael Leeming sentenced Feterson to 32 months in prison.
Samson Price
A dad who took the law into his own hands by carrying out a ‘revenge attack’ with a machete on a man he blamed for his son’s death has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Samson Price, of Sefton Road in Wigan, appeared at Chester Crown Court on April 4 after being found guilty in February of attempted murder in Northwich.
Price carried out a brutal attack using a 16-inch machete outside PureGym Northwich in 2021.
The incident saw a then 20-year-old from Winsford suffer life-threatening injuries on September 23, 2021.
Laura Parry
A daughter has been jailed for attacking her ‘vulnerable’ 87-year-old mum with a large knife.
Laura Parry, of Ella Grove, Knutsford, also repeatedly bombarded her mother with abusive phone calls, Chester Crown Court heard.
The 58-year-old pleaded guilty to a section 18 assault and possession of a knife and was jailed for six years at Chester Crown Court on Thursday, April 20.
Andrea Reid
A woman who tried to murder a man at Handforth Railway Station has been jailed for three years.
Andrea Reid was charged with the attempted murder of a 20-year-old following an incident at the station last summer.
Reid, of Clough Avenue, Wilmslow, appeared in Chester Crown Court on January 9 to be sentenced, after admitting the offence on November 17 last year.
Christian Kelly and Michael Estrin
Two men have been locked up for their role in a large conspiracy involving the distribution of considerable class A drug hauls.
Christian Kelly and Michael Estrin, from Mere and Wilmslow respectively, are two of 22 men facing a total of more than 200 years in prison over the illegal enterprise.
Their downfall came after an encrypted chat platform they used to organise and facilitate the supply of industrial amounts of cocaine and heroin across the UK was dismantled.
Joshua Stallard
A drug dealer who was growing cannabis in his caravan has been jailed for three years after admitting his offending to police officers.
Joshua Stallard, of Fishpool Road, Delamere, appeared in Chester Crown Court on May 30, to be sentenced for drugs offences involving cannabis and cocaine.
He had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A and B drugs, possession with intent to supply class B drugs, and production of class B drugs.
Christopher Mitchell
A Winsford dealer who used threats of violence and criminal damage to enforce drug debts is now behind bars.
Christopher Mitchell, of Vauxhall Way, appeared at Chester Crown Court on April 28 to face two drug dealing charges.
While in the dock, the Mitchell pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply - one for cocaine (class A) and one for ketamine (class B).
Judge Steven Everett jailed Mitchell for three years and ordered the drugs, along with the defendant's phone, be forfeited and destroyed.
Alexander Hooks
A jealous husband who kneed his pregnant ex-partner in the belly during an eight-year long campaign of violent abuse has been jailed.
Alexander Hooks, of Cedar Grove, Winsford, also stamped on her head while she lay trapped between a bed and the wall, punched her in the face and tore out clumps of her hair.
Hooks appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, May 30, to be sentenced for three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of intimidating a witness – his victim.
Hooks, who had pleaded guilty to all charges, was sentenced to 40 months in prison for the three assaults.
He received a further eight months for intimidating a witness, to be served consecutively, making a total of four years.
David McElligott
A prolific offender jailed for a number of burglaries in Winsford has 'shown no regard for his victims' by continuing to commit crimes across the town.
David McElligott, of Granville Square, was jailed for a total of 28 months earlier this month for breaking into The Hive and the Mind charity shop.
But, these aren't the first offences he has committed in the town - he was jailed for a year in 2020 for breaking into the Red Lion pub and the The Salvation Army church in Weaver Street.
Abu Musa and Abdulrahman Hassan
Two predators have been jailed after raping a woman and filming the attack during a night of 'sustained sexual abuse'.
Abu Musa and Abdulrahman Hassan met their victim, who was on a night out, at a takeaway in Nantwich during the early hours of June 12, 2022.
The pair offered her and a friend a lift home to Winsford and after returning, the second woman left an went to bed.
Musa and Hassan stayed with their victim, who was already drunk, and plied her with more alcohol before raping and sexually assaulting her.
The pair returned to Chester Crown Court on Friday where they were jailed for more than 25 years.
Martin Cunliffe
A drug driver who was 39 times over the legal limit was jailed for causing the death of ‘a much loved family man’.
Martin Cunliffe originally denied one charge of causing death by driving without due care and consideration but was found guilty after a four-day trial at Chester Crown Court on April 27.
Cunliffe from Barnton was sentenced to five years on July 14 and banned from driving for seven years.
The court heard Cunliffe had been driving a Fiat 500 on August 12, 2020, when it was involved in a crash with a Ford Connect van on School Lane, Warmingham, leaving the driver, 50-year-old Gerry Smith, with fatal injuries.
Kyle Taylor
Kyle Taylor, of Mayfield Road in Northwich, was jailed for strangling and threatening to kill his ex-partner after reacting badly to their break-up.
He showed up at the victim’s home at 5.30am on November 21, 2022, and strangled her before whispering 'you're going to die today' several times, leaving the victim fearing for her life.
He pleaded guilty in May and was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on July 27 to 27 months.
Angela McDougall
A drug addict turned dealer was jailed after committing more than 100 offences.
Angela McDougall, of High Street, Winsford, was sentenced to five years and eight months at Chester Crown Court on August 9 following her involvement in the sale of £95,000 of illegal substances.
It came after she admitted to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, namely heroin and crack cocaine, and one count of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs, Ketamine.
Cody Coleman
Cody Coleman is spending more than three and a half years behind bars after being convicted of a string of offences involving the supply of class A drugs in Northwich.
On March 30 this year, he was spotted by officers acting suspiciously in the Townfield area of Barnton and was subsequently arrested and found in possession of cocaine, a large quantity of cash, two phones, and a knuckle duster.
Coleman pleaded guilty on September 5 and was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on September 25 to three years and seven months in prison.
Samuel Watts
Samuel Watts, of Thornley Green in Lostock Gralam, was jailed after hiding drugs in a crisp packet.
He was arrested when officers discovered a quantity of cannabis, electric scales, snap bags, and a contractible metal baton while carrying out a warrant on March 1.
Police were not able to find any class A drugs during the initial search of the property, however, while searching the garden officers found an empty crisp packet which contained 23 bags of cocaine, worth between £700 and £800.
Watts appeared at Chester Crown Court on September 13 and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Jack McElligott
Jack McElligott, of Elmwood Road in Winsford, was jailed after a two-year campaign of violence, humiliation, degradation, and abuse against his teenage ex-girlfriend.
He appeared at Chester Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, October 6, after pleading guilty to one count of coercion and control against an intimate partner at Chester Magistrates Court on Tuesday, August 1.
Judge Simon Berkson sentenced him to 20 months in prison, half of which will be served behind bars, and imposed a 12-year restraining order forbidding him from contact his ex.
Neil Owen
Neil Owen was jailed for 89 weeks after admitting he breached an 18-year-old court order.
The sexual offences prevention order, which was handed down by Vale Royal Magistrates Court on January 28, 2005, banned him from communicating with children.
But on August 24 this year, Owen, of Abbotts Way, breached the order by twice approaching and communicating with a 15-year-old child.
Judge Patrick Thompson sentenced him to 18 months in prison, with Owen having to serve a further 11 weeks as a result of a suspended sentence handed to him in August.
Alex Cain
Alex Cain, of Muskett Drive in Winnington, was jailed for strangling and beating a woman and trying to suffocate her.
He appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday, October 2, to be sentenced for two separate cases concerning the same victim.
He pleaded guilty to both cases and was handed a total of 27 months in prison.
Ryan Moss
A 'violent' drug dealer from Northwich was jailed after detectives staked him out for months.
Officer had to use pepper spray on Ryan Moss, of Waterbank Row, when he was arrested in a dawn raid at an address five miles from his home on September 6.
He had been dealing cocaine and ketamine in the town since at least June, when police officers began a surveillance campaign follow a tip-off from local residents.
Moss appeared at Chester Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday, October, where he was jailed for three years.
Jonathan Weedall and Karen Hazelden
A couple were jailed after one was filmed topping up a county lines drug gang’s ‘graft phone’ on CCTV.
Jonathan Weedall and Karen Hazelden, both of Station Road in Northwich, were arrested at home after a police raid on January 26, 2022.
The pair were charged with two counts each of being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine, admitting to all charges at a pre-trial preparation hearing at Chester Crown Court on May 5.
The couple appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on November 15 and were both sentenced to two years, eight months in prison.
Kelly Mills
Kelly Mills, of Thatch Close in Holmes Chapel, will spend more than a year behind bars after 'emptying the bank account' of Goostrey Pre-School.
She was hired as the school’s treasurer in 2017 and almost immediately began stealing.
In little over two years she transferred more than £43,000 to herself and spent around £13,000 using a school debit card.
She was sentenced on November 10 to two and a half years, of which she will serve at least half.
Jason Lowe
Drug dealer Jason Lowe was sentenced to two years in prison on November 20.
Northwich Local Policing Unit carried out stop searches on Tuesday (September 19), during which he was stopped and found to be in possession of 26 wraps of crack cocaine.
He was arrested and subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Lowe, of Victoria Road, pleaded guilty to the charge at Chester Magistrates Court on Thursday (September 21).
Ryan Brown, Alex Guy and Hazel Mputu
Dayo Adekoya, who signed for 1874 Northwich FC in August, was robbed while having a wee after leaving a nightclub in Liverpool in February.
Ryan Brown, Alex Guy and Hazel Mputu held an unknown implement to the back of his head before stealing his £25,000 watch along with his bracelets, his expensive bucket hat and man bag, and two pairs of Cartier glasses along with his credit cards and passport.
Brown, described as the ringleader, was jailed for 40 months on November 6 at Liverpool Crown Court.
Meanwhile Guy and Mputu were both sentence to two and a half years behind bars.
Wayne Meredith
Heroin addict Wayne Meredith slashed his way through the roof of his own local pub in Northwich to raid the fruit machine.
Meredith caused £4,353 worth of damage at the Clock Tower pub, New Warrington Road, when he tore off tiles and cut through roofing felt with a knife in the early hours of Wednesday, September 27.
He also admitted breaking into the Weaver’s Whistle pub on Wells Avenue, Lostock Gralam, on Wednesday, September 20.
He came away from both jobs empty-handed and was sentenced to 28 months at Chester Crown Court on November 24.
Iain Alexander
A drug dealer who stashed heroin and cocaine in a Kinder Surprise capsule between his buttocks has been jailed.
Iain Alexander, of Robinson Lane in Winsford, was also armed with a taser when police pulled him over on Saxon Crossway on October 10.
When he was searched, officers found a small wrap of brown powder, three mobile phones, a large sum of money in cash, and suspected stolen goods.
He appeared at Chester Crown Court for sentencing on November 8 and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel