Man threw bottle as EDL protested at army parade

By
July 18, 2013
affray, EDL, English Defence League, Suspended sentence

A MAN who took aim with a bottle as English Defence League supporters clashed with young Asians during an army parade has escaped being jailed – despite being sentenced for affray days before the clash.

Daniel Groves, 23, of Kettlewell Close, Warwick, pleaded guilty at the crown court in Leamington to a charge of affray and was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years.

He was given 18 months supervision, banned from all pubs and clubs for three months and made subject to a 8pm to 6am electronic-tag curfew for the same period.

The court heard that Groves had convictions for affray and public order offences and four days before the clash had been given a community sentence for an affray in Warwick town centre.

Prosecutor Vicki Lofrese said in September the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers were on parade in Nuneaton when police spotted English Defence League (EDL) supporters heading towards a pub.

She said: “Large banners were being paraded and slogans shouted from members of that group, including ‘I am English ’til I die’ and ‘St George in my heart.’

“Police saw a group of about 20 in the drinking area outside singing the same slogans and ‘Taliban scum’ as a group of young Asian men began to congregate outside.”

As the tension mounted and police struggled to keep them apart, Groves was spotted throwing the bottle, which smashed near the Asian youths, and he was arrested after a struggle.

He claimed the Asians were planning to attack them, denied being a member of the EDL but said he believed in its policies and was “against radical Muslims”.

Groves said that the EDL protected British troops by providing a target for those protesting against them.

Peter Freeman, defending, said: “Nuneaton is a long way from Warwick, but this was a trip with his friend whose cousin was in the regiment.

“He is standing there chatting with a bottle in his hand. He is about five rows back, and something triggers him to lob the bottle.

“ He does not know whether it was a coin or a pebble, but something struck him and he lost his rag.

“He says it is not right that people can turn up and shout abuse at our soldiers, but he never went there looking for trouble.”

Mr Freeman said Groves has had “a glowing report” from his probation officer.

Mrs Justice Macur told Groves: “I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt that this offence was not racially or religiously motivated – but you are running out of chances.”

The Courier

Leeds meat cleaver crime spree man jailed

By
July 18, 2013
assault, Drugs, EDL, English Defence League, Jailed, possessing an offensive weapon, sex abuse
Grant

Grant

A violent thug used a meat cleaver to threaten victims during a six-week campaign of robbery and burglary to fund a £600-a-week drink and drug habit.

Daniel Grant, 22, was jailed indefinitely yesterday after a court heard he had a hatred of people not like him and he enjoyed carrying weapons because it made him feel “on top of the world”.

Grant committed eight robberies in Leeds between December and January this year, taking £3,000 worth of valuables from victims. Some were assaulted or threatened with a meat cleaver and other weapons.

Leeds Crown Court heard Grant holds openly racist views and is an active member of the English Defence League, a far-right protest group. After his arrest he claimed he carried weapons because other people were “needled-up” and may attack him because of his political views.

Judge Penelope Belcher jailed Grant indefinitely, saying he posed a significant risk of committing serious offences in the future. He must serve a minimum of four years in prison before he can apply to the parole board for release.

Grant, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted robbery, burglary and possession of a bladed weapon.

He asked for 16 other offences to be taking into consideration, including seven robberies and five burglaries. Some of the offences were committed with the help of an accomplice.

Two of the offences included him targeting victim as they walked to work along a canal tow path near to Gotts Road, Armley. One man, who was told hand over his wallet, feared he would be attacked and left to bleed to death.

After his arrest Grant, who has previous convictions for assault and sex offences, told probation officers and a psychiatrist that he had a fascination with weapons and the power it gave him. He also said he had dreams about “torching” people and inflicting other injuries on them.

Jobless Grant said he committed the offences to fund his addiction to alcohol and cannabis. He was also a regular user of amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and anabolic steroids, which fuelled his aggression.

He said he was full of hatred for people who were not like him, including members of his own family. A report stated that he had an “abnormal personality” and had no empathy for his victims.

Judge Belcher said Grant was a risk to the public because he showed no desire to change.

She told: “You have made it clear that the lifestyle that you were leading, involving drugs and significant amounts of alcohol, is a lifestyle you have every intention of leading on your release from custody.”

After the hearing, Det Con Dave McKean, of City and Holbeck CID, said: “Grant put his victims through terrifying ordeals, often at knifepoint, purely to get money. I hope the sentence he has received will serve as some source of comfort to those whose lives have been affected by his actions.”

Yorkshire Evening Post

West Yorkshire nail bomb maker jailed for 11 years

By
July 18, 2013
explosives, Jailed
Terence Gavan pleaded guilty to 22 charges

Terence Gavan pleaded guilty to 22 charges


A man who admitted making nail bombs at his West Yorkshire home has been jailed for 11 years.

Terence Gavan, 38, who the Old Bailey heard showed a strong hostility towards immigrants, was arrested by police in a raid at his home in May 2009.

The bus driver’s arsenal of weapons and explosives included home-made shotguns, pen guns and pistols.

Gavan, from Batley, also pleaded guilty to six counts of having or collecting documents useful in terrorism.

Sentencing Gavan, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith said his case was “unique” because of his long and persistent manufacture of guns and explosives.

Gavan, who the court heard was a former member of the BNP, pleaded guilty to 22 charges at Woolwich Crown Court in November.

Police discovered 12 firearms and 54 improvised explosive devices, which included nail bombs and a booby-trapped cigarette packet, at the home Gavan shared with his mother.

He told detectives he had “a fascination with things that go bang”, the Old Bailey heard.

After the case, head of the North East Counter Terrorism Unit Det Ch Supt David Buxton said Gavan posed a significant risk to public safety.

“Gavan was an extremely dangerous and unpredictable individual,” he said.

“The sheer volume of home-made firearms and grenades found in his bedroom exposed his obsession with weapons and explosives.

“However, he was not simply a harmless enthusiast.

“Gavan used his extensive knowledge to manufacture and accumulate devices capable of causing significant injury or harm.”

A BNP spokesman would not comment on whether Gavan had been a member of the party.

But he told BBC News that Gavan’s offences were “serious” and the sentence given to him was “correct”.

BBC News

Speedboat people smugglers jailed

By
July 18, 2013
Jailed, people smuggling

Two ex-soldiers who smuggled Chinese illegal immigrants across the Channel in inflatable boats have been jailed.

Allan Guy Gallop, 49, and Marcus Wakelin, 42, both of East Sussex, were filmed by police dropping the immigrants at Newhaven in May 2004.

Gallop, from Peacehaven, was jailed for four years, and builder Wakelin, of Eastbourne, got a three year sentence.

The judge at Maidstone Crown Court told them they had been involved in “an insidious trade in human trafficking”.

The court heard each of the immigrants they transported had paid up to £7,000 to “Snake Head” gangsters before being collected in Calais and brought across the Channel through busy shipping lanes.

Gallop, a divorced father-of-two, was approached to act as a “ferryman” for illegal immigrants by an Albanian man in February 2004, and was told where to collect the immigrants by a Paris-based Chinese woman.

He made a first trip alone in the early hours of 1 April, transporting seven people, the court heard.

His mission was tracked by a police aerial surveillance unit.

Experienced boatmen

He then enlisted Wakelin to take charge of a second boat on 30 May when a further 13 people were brought to the UK.

The court heard both men were motivated by money, with Gallop receiving up to £20,000 in total, and Wakelin up to £9,000.

Prosecuting, Tony Prosser said: “The role demanded a great deal of expertise, and they were experienced boatmen.”

Gallop, a former Grenadier Guard, pleaded guilty to two counts of facilitating illegal entry into the UK.

‘Dangerous work’

Wakelin, a former Queen’s infantryman, admitted a single charge.

Jailing them, Judge Warwick McKinnon said: “This was very dangerous work crossing busy shipping lanes at night.

“Each of you was an integral part of what was a highly-sophisticated and organised enterprise.”

He added that they had shown little concern for the immigrants’ safety, choosing only to equip themselves with life jackets and helmets, and using boats without light or radar reflectors.

Speaking after their sentencing, Det Ch Insp Paul Gladstone, of Kent Police, said Gallop and Wakelin had used their military backgrounds to “establish an operation which took advantage of vulnerable people, who believed they were being helped”.

BBC News

Four locked up for slashing teen in Thornhill Lees

By
July 18, 2013
Jailed, possessing an offensive weapon, Racial Conviction, racially-aggravated common assault

A JUDGE has condemned a gang which got embroiled in a ‘spiral of violence’ in Dewsbury.

This week four men were jailed for an attack on two teenagers, which Leeds Crown Court heard was the result of heightened racial tensions in Thornhill Lees.

Two of the defendants, Josh Foster and Jordan Williams, were seeking revenge after being beaten up by a group of Asian males in October.

Melvin Watts, 19, told police the pair called for him on November 3 and told him, ‘Tonight’s the night’. Watts thought this meant they were going to find the men who had attacked them. He said he took a craft knife for self-defence.

The trio called for Dale Oakley, 21, and all four went to Thornhill Lees where they set upon two Asian teenagers in Lees Hall Road.

Williams hit one of the teenagers with a stick and Watts slashed one of them across the face.

Abdul Iqbal, mitigating, said the other men started attacking the two teenagers before Watts got involved.

Mr Iqbal said: “He took that as a tacit confirmation that these were the people they were looking for.”

But David Bradshaw, prosecuting, said neither of the victims were linked with the assault on Foster and Williams.

He added that Williams, 18, had told officers that Watts had invited friends on Facebook to go ‘muzzy hunting’.

Mr Iqbal said there had been heightened racial tensions in Thornhill Lees after Jack Carter had been killed by an Asian man in August. But Richard Canning, mitigating, said Foster did not see the attack as racist.

Sam Andrews and Robin Frieze for Williams and Oakley said both had shown remorse.

Watts, of Mountain Road, Thornhill, was given five years in a young offenders’ institute for wounding with intent and possessing an offensive weapon.

Foster, 18, of Grange Crescent, Tadcaster, was given 15 months in a young offenders’ institute for wounding and racially aggravated assault.

Oakley, of Thorn Avenue, Thornhill, was jailed for 18 months for the same offences.

Williams, of Partridge Crescent, Thornhill, was sent to a young offenders’ institute for 18 months for wounding, racially aggravated assault and possessing an offensive weapon.

Judge Colin Burn said: “I have heard about the death of Mr Carter and it is clear it is a part of a cycle or spiral of violence in your area. You four, with some enthusiasm, decided to get yourselves involved.

“What you did was completely unacceptable in any civilised society. Both complainants were traumatised by what happened to them and in the case of one, he has been left with a permanent facial scar.

“It’s an absolute miracle that his eye was not put out.”

Dewsbury Reporter

Shoplifter’s light touch

By
July 18, 2013
conditional discharge, EDL, theft

A SHOPLIFTER saw the light when he was nabbed with 22 lightbulbs.

Derek Fender was found with the pounds 153 haul of energy-efficient bulbs when stopped by police in Gateshead.

The 38-year-old admitted stealing them from Homebase, Retail World, Team Valley, earlier that day to use in his own flat.

Fender, who has 31 convictions for theft, pleaded guilty to the May 9 theft and was given a 12-month conditional discharge to run alongside a community order he is on.

Defending, Tom Iceton, told Gateshead magistrates that when Fender, of Bensham Crescent, Gateshead, split up with his girlfriend, she wouldn’t let him take anything but his clothing.

His benefit claim was reduced because of his change of address, said Mr Iceton, and he couldn’t afford basics to furnish his flat. But this has now been sorted out.

The Free Library

Three men sentenced over arson attack on Sussex mosque

By
July 18, 2013
Arson, EDL, hate crime, Public order offence, Racial Conviction
James Everley, James Smith and Joshua Morris were sentenced to three years for the arson attack

James Everley, James Smith and Joshua Morris were sentenced to three years for the arson attack

Three men have been sentenced for an arson attack on a newly-renovated mosque in West Sussex.

James Everley, 20, of Crawley, James Smith, 20, of Burgess Hill, and Joshua Morris, 20, of Haywards Heath, were all sentenced to three years at a young offenders institute.

The fire at the mosque in Wivelsfield Road, Haywards Heath, was started at about 02:10 GMT on 13 February.

Police believe the attack was a religiously-aggravated hate crime.

The men had pleaded guilty at Hove Crown Court to arson, theft of paraffin and a public order offence, which involved racially or religiously aggravated fear of violence.

Ch Insp Jon Hull, district commander for Mid Sussex, said: “The mosque was occupied at the time this fire was started and it could have had devastating consequences if it hadn’t been put out quickly.

“Thankfully only damage was caused to the building.

“Everyone who lives, works or visits Sussex has a right to go about their lives without becoming the victim of a hate crime because of their disability, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The mosque had been renovated and had reopened three months before the attack

BBC News

Man threatened to set fire to Wrexham mosque

By
July 18, 2013
EDL, Suspended sentence

A MAN was abusive and threatening to two British Muslims outside Wrexham’s new mosque and threatened to burn it down.

David Jared Evans, 36, sent texts to people suggesting a visit to the mosque in the former Miner’s Institute and a demonstration and said flare throwers made “good legal weapons”.

Evans received a suspended sentence after he admitted using threatening, abusive and insulting language and behaviour towards Abdulla Anwar which was racially and religiously aggravated. He had a similar previous conviction in 2006 after he abused a black woman.

Judge Niclas Parry, sitting at Mold Crown Court, said North Wales was becoming a cosmopolitan area and the courts would do everything they could to ensure people lived in harmony.

The judge said Mr Anwar and a colleague had approached Evans outside the mosque and offered him help.

“For that, they were subjected to a torrent of disgraceful abuse,” the judge said.

The comments were religiously and racially aggravated, persistent and escalated to threats of violence.

“Wrexham is a cosmopolitan town,” he said. “North Wales is becoming a cosmopolitan area.

“The courts will do everything they can to ensure people live in harmony in a cosmopolitan society.

The comments Evans had made generated hatred which had to be stamped out.

“You come into this case as a racist individual,” said the judge, but he was prepared to accept Evans had changed following his experiences in custody.

“Your future behaviour will show if I am right,” Judge Parry told him.

A prison sentence was inevitable but the judge took into account Evans had already served the equivalent of a six month sentence on remand.

He had pleaded guilty and rather than sending him back into custody for what could only be a matter of weeks he believed it would be better to tackle his “intransigent attitudes”.

Evans, of High Street, Rhos, received a 36 week prison sentence, suspended for a year.

He must carry out 200 hours unpaid work and attend an offending behaviour programme run by the probation service specifically to address his racially motivated behaviour.

“I think that will benefit you,” the judge told him.

Evans was also made subject of a two month 7pm-7am curfew at weekends and Judge Parry told him to pay £500 towards prosecution costs and £150 compensation to Mr Anwar.

A restraining order was made which bans him from going to the mosque or approaching Mr Anwar.

Elizabeth Bell, prosecuting, said on September 10 Evans was taking photographs of the former Miner’s Institute in Grosvenor Road, which had been bought by Wrexham Muslim Association and turned into a mosque.

He saw the two men outside and said to them: “This is a disgrace, you using this place. You’re probably just making your bombs here.”

Evans then used a racist term and asked them why they did not go home. Both men had been born in the United Kingdom.

Mr Anwar, who was left feeling frustrated and distressed, took a photograph of Evans and the defendant did likewise.

When Mr Anwar refused to give Evans his name, he said: “I will be back with my friends. We will give you a good seeing to,” and before leaving threatened to set the place on fire.

Arrested the following day, pictures of the mosque were found on his mobile phone along with a racist song.

A text message was found which he had sent to another man asking him if he was “up for a visit to the mosque tonight?” Another asked a third man if he wanted to join in a demo against the mosque.

One text made reference to a flame thrower making a great legal weapon.

Interviewed, he denied the offence and made no comment when questioned about the text messages.

Evans pleaded guilty after asking the court for a sentencing indication.

Andrew Green, defending, said Evans now realised it was a deeply unpleasant incident.

He had been disciplined in work but as far as he was aware his job was still available to him.

The Leader

Woman bit police officer after arrest

By
July 18, 2013
actual bodily harm, assault, EDL, Suspended sentence

A WOMAN attacked several police officers, biting one, after her arrest during an English Defence League rally, a court heard.

Police initially went to the aid of Antonia Claire Evans, who was suffering a suspected broken arm after a scuffle during the demonstration, in November last year.

However, Durham Crown Court heard that a stand-off developed, before the officers tried to lift Evans out through the crowd.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said Evans shouted and swore and, despite her injury, lashed out at the officers with her injured arm.

She punched another officer in the groin and headbutted a third after they tried to pin her to the ground.

Amid efforts to put her into a police van, to remove her and place her in a cell at a police station, she continued to struggle, biting a custody officer’s index finger.

Miss Masters said the officer had to hit her three times to make her release her grip.

The officer’s finger was cut by the bite, while another officer lost clumps of hair grabbed by Evans during the struggle.

Miss Masters said the arrest at the rally, in Preston, Lancashire, was the culmination of a series of incidents involving Evans.

It included biting a security guard in the chest on June 3 as he tried to detain her outside the Tesco shop in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, on suspicion of shoplifting.

In a further incident, in October, she set a Staffordshire bull terrier and an alsatian on her then partner as he left her home in Newton Aycliffe after a row.

Miss Masters said both dogs attacked and bit the man several times, while she landed several punches.

Evans, 24, of Mellanby Crescent, admitted four charges of assault causing actual bodily harm, three of common assault and being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control.

Julie Clemitson, for Evans, said she has spent 123 days in custody, during which time she has progressed with psychiatric assistance.

Judge John Evans said that because of the time she had spent in custody, he could pass a prison sentence of 51 weeks, suspended for two years.

She must undergo 12 months of probation supervision, to include sessions addressing alcohol misuse, while continuing to receive psychiatric help.

She was also banned from owning dogs for seven years.

Northern Echo

Drunk EDL supporter butted man at festival

By
July 18, 2013
assault, EDL, threatening behaviour

A supporter of the English Defence League head-butted one of the group’s opponents during an anti-racism music festival.

James Lee Elliott, 20, was drunk when he attacked a member of Leicester Unite Against Fascism during the festival last year.

The assault took place during a free music festival called Love Music, Hate Racism in Leicester’s Market Corner in October, Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard.

Elliott, who the court heard is already subject to a three-year football banning order, approached an information stall run by Unite Against Fascism and tried to pull down one of the group’s posters.

After three attempts, the court heard, he managed to pull the poster away and was challenged by a one of the people who were running the stall.

Prosecutor Cheryl Goes, told the hearing on Thursday that Elliott head-butted the man before he was restrained by onlookers and the police were called.

When two police officers arrived to take him away, Elliott became abusive, calling the two constables a series of foul names.

The officers said Elliott smelled of alcohol and was glassy-eyed.

The officers initially intended to issue him with a dispersal notice, which would have meant he would have to leave the city centre.

However, as he continued to swear at them and struggle, they attempted to restrain him but he began attempting to punch and kick them, the court heard.

He was eventually handcuffed when a third officer arrived to help his colleagues.

Ms Goes told the court: “During his police interview he accepted he was at the event and was a member of the English Defence League and was angered by the poster.”

Elliott has seven criminal convictions dating back to 2007, Ms Goes said.

Elliott, of Rona Gardens, Thurnby Lodge, Leicester, had previously pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour, but denied resisting arrest and assault.

He was due to be tried for those offences – which were caught on CCTV cameras – but changed his pleas to guilty on the day of the trial.

Kerry Patrick, representing Elliott, told the court that her client accepted he had been drunk and abusive but denied he had deliberately head butted his victim.

He had pleaded guilty to the assault charge because he accepted there was contact between him and the man.

Ms Patrick said: “He accepts he was being abusive throughout and that he was intoxicated.

“He also accepts he was angered by the content of the poster and that he took it down after several attempts.”

The chairman of the bench, William Langley, adjourned sentencing until Thursday, August 2.

In that time, probation officers will compile a report on Elliott and his criminal history to guide the magistrates who sentence him.

Elliott was released on unconditional bail.

This is Leicester