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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Neil Docking

Faces of 22 people jailed in Liverpool this week

This list includes 22 people locked up for crimes linked to Merseyside this past week.

Courts heard about a "greedy" couple who ran a children's football club into the ground. One judge sentenced a road rage driver who attacked two motorcyclists, and another had to sentence a thug who stabbed a man multiple times in a terrifying robbery.

EncroChat drug dealers were locked up for trading in guns and spreading misery in communities around the UK. Disturbing cases included a pervert who tricked a vulnerable teenager into thinking she was in love with him and a creep who blamed sick online chats with a '13-year-old girl' on the stress of his dad dying.

READ MORE: EncroChat dealers teamed up to go global with Colombian contacts

And a judge had to sentence a convicted cocaine dealer released from jail who hid a revolver in a young mum's home. Here is an overview of some of those which have concluded this past week.

Michael Hailwood

EncroChat drug dealer Michael Hailwood embedded himself in the international underworld. Michael Hailwood operated under the codename "CardinalTrunk" as he sought to peddle huge quantities of cocaine.

Michael Hailwood, 51, previously of Cherry Tree Road in Huyton (Liverpool ECHO)

But a police sting revealed his links to a network of more than two dozen drugs suppliers, couriers and street runners. Hailwood - who boasted connections from Europe to South America - offered his global contact list as a way to regain a foothold within the North West gangland, after he was released from a jail sentence for drug offences in 2019.

Messages revealed the 51-year-old discussed the supply of cocaine and a trading network that stretched to Scotland and Hull. Hailwood, once based in Amsterdam and previously of Cherry Tree Road in Huyton, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was jailed for 16 years.

Kevin Wall

Kevin Wall battered one motorcyclist before revving his engine and driving over another biker's leg. The dad was going to see his heavily pregnant wife when he got stuck behind two motorbikes in n Hanover Street in Liverpool city centre.

When Ethan Lawless stalled in front of him, the 41-year-old got out of the car and punched the motorcyclist multiple times in the head. Then, while trying to drive away, he hit the second biker Greg Simpson, who rolled over his bonnet and landed on the ground, before Wall's car went over Mr Simpson's leg, leaving him with life changing injuries.

Wall told police he thought he was being goaded by Mr Lawless - who was just trying to tell him there was a problem with his bike - on January 21, 2019. Wall, of Pennsylvania Road, Tuebrook, admitted assault and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for 14 months.

Christopher Welsh junior

Christopher Welsh junior, formerly of Lyndale Avenue in Eastham, received an additional six months to the 28 years he is already serving in jail for drugs offences (Liverpool Echo)

Christopher Welsh junior nicknamed the "Scouse Escobar" had his mammoth jail sentence extended after being found with mobile phones in jail. Prison officers discovered the notorious drug trafficker had a phone in one prison and then, after he was moved, linked him to another illicit device.

The 43-year-old is serving a 28-year sentence for two separate drugs conspiracies - including one managed with his dad, Christopher Welsh senior. Welsh junior, formerly of Lyndale Avenue in Eastham, Wirral, was caught with an iPhone and SIM card in HMP Wymott, Lancashire in August, 2020.

Then, after being moved to HMP Berwyn in Wales, he was found with a tiny Zanco mobile and a SIM in April 2021. Welsh junior, who had used them to contact family members, admitted possessing specified items in prison. He was handed a further six months in prison.

Karl McIntyre and Gary Davies

Karl McIntyre stabbed a man multiple times as the victim jumped for his life from a window. The thug stabbed Anthony Owens in the leg and the arm with a 10 inch kitchen knife after a night of drinking.

McIntyre, 41, and his friend, Gary Davies, 32, had been invited into Mr Owens' flat, in Bootle, when they didn't have anywhere else to go. But they demanded the victim's bank card and PIN, before McIntyre stole £110 in cash from Mr Owens and his £100 mobile phone.

Mr Owens handed over his bank card and PIN to Davies, who left, but when the victim tried to escape, McIntyre launched his attack. Both men admitted robbery on the day a trial was due to start.

McIntyre, of Pear Grove, Kensington, was jailed for nine years, with an extended four years on licence. Davies, of Oriel Road, Bootle, was jailed for six years and nine months.

Paul Audley

Paul Audley claimed he was robbed at gunpoint but was jailed after his web of lies was exposed. The 40-year-old told police he was the victim of a carjacking in which his Audi RS 6 was stolen.

But the dad - who also involved his girlfriend in his deception by getting her to ring the police - had actually crashed the vehicle. A member of the public saw Audley fleeing from his car in Bebington Road, Wirral, at 10.30pm, on Saturday, January 16 last year.

After giving a false statement to police, he later retracted it, but his lies were undone by his DNA being found on the driver's airbag. Audley, who eventually admitted perverting the course of public justice, was jailed for 12 months. Merseyside Police said it did not have his mugshot because he attended a voluntary police interview.

Rueben Price Snr, Rueben Price Jnr and James Price

Reuben Price Sr, 49, of Regent Street, Newton-le-Willows (Widnes Weekly News)


Three members of the same family were involved in an incident when shots were fired and a wagon was rammed by a tipper truck. Witnesses told police between five and six shots were fired during a confrontation at Factory Lane in Widnes on August 3, 2020.

Police said the disturbance related to a land dispute between two families, who both owned sites on Factory Lane. They said one of the families had decided to undertake building work on their land, which the Price family strongly objected to.

Reuben Price Jr, 27, of Southworth Road, Newton le Willows (Widnes Weekly News)

As a result, the Price family decided to take matters into their own hands and went to the site en masse. A wagon driver delivering fencing to the site said his lorry was deliberately rammed by a yellow tipper truck being driven by one of the Prices. Other people also claimed they were also rammed by the truck.

During a search of the land belonging to the Price family, police found destroyed mobile phones, ammunition and abandoned vehicles. A long barrelled gun was also subsequently seized from an address associated with Reuben Price Snr in Newton-le-Willows.

James Price, 24, of Baguley Avenue, Widnes (Cheshire Police)

Rueben Price Snr, Rueben Price Jnr and James Price all admitted charges of violent disorder. Price Snr, 49, of Regent Street, Newton-le-Willows, was jailed for three years.

Price Jnr, 27, of Southworth Road, Newton-le-Willows, was jailed for two years and five months. James Price, 24, of Baguley Avenue, Widnes, was also jailed for two years and five months.

Hugh Black

Hugh Black stole more than £500,000 from a number of companies as his wife spent the cash on luxury holidays in Spain. The 58-year-old, from Rainford, set up businesses installing energy efficient home improvements in order to submit fraudulent claims.

With the help of a right-hand man from Manchester, he falsified and altered invoices received from legitimate companies to a total of £593,000. He fraudulently transferred £350,000 out of his failing company, Ecogreen Renewables Ltd, before it was wound up, to avoid paying creditors.

The money was transferred to Phoenix Interiors (North West) Ltd, a company he and his wife Helen Black, 51, were the directors of. He later claimed the money was moved because Ecogreen owed Phoenix a £750,000 debt - putting this false debt ahead of genuine payments owed.

Hugh Black admitted conspiracy to fraudulently evade VAT; two counts of fraud in anticipation of winding up; and knowingly making a false statement. He was jailed for five years.

Helen Black admitted acquiring criminal property and transferring criminal property. She was handed a suspended prison sentence.

Donna Williams

Donna Williams, 54, of Fieldway Court in Birkenhead (Liverpool ECHO)

Donna Williams punched a paramedic in the face and called her a "t***" after a passer-by dialled 999 fearing she had suffered a heart attack. The drunken nan had to be restrained by police when she threatened to further hit the woman in Birkenhead in the early hours of November 28 last year.

It was the latest shameful attack carried out by the 54-year-old, who has repeatedly lashed out at emergency service staff and issued bomb threats to police. Williams, of Fieldway Court in Birkenhead, who later said she was "10" out of 10 on a scale of drunkenness, admitted breaching a suspended sentence and assaulting an emergency worker. She was jailed for 14 months.

Aaron Green

A convicted cocaine dealer released from jail hid a revolver under his pregnant girlfriend's mattress. Aaron Green said he "tried to keep his head down" and stay out of trouble after serving two prison sentences for drug dealing.

He had been locked up for his part in a crack cocaine and heroin ring, then for stashing £24,000 of cocaine down his underpants. But after being released on licence, the 30-year-old said he was told he owed a debt and had to repay it by looking after the gun.

Undercover police were watching Green's partner's family home in Flamstead, Skelmersdale, on Friday, December 17 last year. After stopping a car that left the street with bags of adulterant, officers searched the young mum's house and found the gun, next to £15,000 in cash.

Green, of Eavesdale, Skelmersdale, admitted possessing a firearm and possessing a firearm when prohibited from doing so due to a past jail term. He was jailed for five years and four months.

Alex McDonald

Alex McDonald blamed sick online chats with a '13-year-old girl' on the stress of his dad dying from cancer. The paedophile sent disgusting videos and sexually explicit photos to a person he thought was a child.

The then 19-year-old - who encouraged her to perform sex acts - was really talking to an undercover police officer. McDonald, now 20, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity, and attempting to cause a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.

He now claims he doesn't remember the chats in February and March 2021 and denies having any sexual interest in children. But a judge rejected those claims and jailed him for 20 months.

Paul Mangan

Paul Mangan planned to sell a revolver and sent "price lists" of guns that included AK47s and submachine guns. The 27-year-old also used his EncroChat handle "PaleRadio" to order kilos of cocaine, heroin and cannabis to distribute to dealers throughout Liverpool.

Mangan denied conspiracy to transfer and possess prohibited weapons, as well as plots to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis, but was found guilty after a trial. He used EncroChat to message several accounts with price lists for a variety of different guns that could potentially be sourced, including sub-machine guns, rifles and Glock pistols.

Mangan, from Huyton, but now of no fixed address, eventually facilitated the transfer of a Special Calibre Revolver self-loading pistol. He was jailed for 18 and a half years.

Michelle Marshall

Michelle Marshall and her husband Simon ran a children's football club into the ground by blowing nearly £100,000 of its money. The "greedy" couple were the directors of Phoenix Football Youth Club in Southport, which secured a £75,000 grant for a new clubhouse and had around £41,000 coming in from player subscriptions.

But while building work stalled and players went without proper equipment, the Marshalls and their three children holidayed in the USA, France and Italy - enjoying meals out, paintballing and boating trips. Mrs Marshall, 42, was chairwoman and treasurer, while her 47-year-old husband was the secretary and welfare officer of the club, then based in Russell Road.

The mum stole around £70,000 of the grant, and a further £29,000 in subscription fees, including a sum of around £12,500, which her husband jointly took. Mrs Marshall admitted two counts of fraud, relating to £99,453 in total. She was jailed for two and a half years. Her husband admitted one count of fraud, relating to £12,686. He was handed 15 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Matthew West

Matthew West, 49, of Carlton Road in Birkenhead (Liverpool ECHO)

Matthew West agreed to mind a shotgun in exchange for 10 wraps of cocaine and heroin. The 49-year-old drug addict hid the weapon in his shed after his dealer asked him to look after a parcel.

The shotgun was discovered when police raided West’s home in Carlton Road, Birkenhead on February 9 this year. Police also recovered four wraps of crack cocaine and four wraps of heroin - part of his payment.

West admitted possessing a shotgun and possessing crack cocaine and heroin. He was jailed for 12 months.

Neil Webb

Neil Webb was caught with almost 200 indecent images of children. The 25-year-old, of Bruera Road, Ellesmere Port, was previously convicted of possessing and downloading indecent images of children in February 2021.

He was then sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, and made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). An officer visited his home address on June 25, 2021 to ensure he was keeping to his conditions.

She discovered his mobile phone was on private browsing mode - a breach of his SHPO. The officer found there were in excess of 350 bookmarked URLs, which related to Category C indecent images of children.

On February 2, 2022, officers raided Webb's home and a further phone, which was not registered with the police, was seized from him. This was found to contain 198 images indicative of indecent images of children.

He admitted two breaches of the order and possessing and downloading indecent images of children. Webb was jailed for 20 months.

Connor Cotterill

Connor Cotterill's mum and dad were "shocked to the core" to discover he was a drug dealer. He said he started selling cocaine and ecstasy to pay off debts he ran up from taking drugs.

But his parents had no idea until police raided their home and searched the property for his illicit stash - the first of three arrests for drugs. Officers found cocaine and MDMA when they struck at the family's address in Acorn Street, Newton-le-Willows on December 13, 2019.

Just after midnight on April 25, 2021, he was stopped in a car in Langdale Grove, St Helens with more cocaine and MDMA, plus ketamine and a knuckle duster. The now 25-year-old was then caught at We Are FSTVL in London with MDMA, ketamine and benzocaine on September 8, 2021.

Cotterill admitted four counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, one count of possessing Class A drugs, two counts of possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply, and possessing an offensive weapon. He was jailed for four years and nine months.

Karl Donoghue

Karl Donoghue stole a car, shotguns and samurai sword from a number of homes last summer. He broke into a house on Sutherland Drive, Eastham, during the early hours of the morning, where he stole the keys to a Volkswagen Golf.

The 27-year-old drove the stolen car to another home on Queens Drive in Helsby, Cheshire, where he broke into another home that day. He searched the address and stole two licensed shotguns, two knives, a martial arts sword and a baseball bat, before fleeing in the stolen car.

Later that day, police discovered the Golf in Little Sutton without registration plates and inside found the plates and the sword and baseball bat. Donoghue, of Barnston Avenue, Ellesmere Port, admitted two burglaries, two counts of possession of a shotgun without a certificate, and three counts of possession of a bladed article. He was jailed for five years and four months.

Michael Smith

Michael Smith, 49, from Hyde, Manchester (Liverpool ECHO)

Michael Smith tricked a vulnerable teenager into thinking she was in love with him before sexually assaulting her. The 49-year-old spent months grooming his victim before setting up a meeting with her and luring her back to his home.

The pervert collected the child from an address in Warrington in February of last year. He then drove the girl back to his flat in Cheetham Fold Road, Hyde, Greater Manchester, where he sexually assaulted her.

She was found at around 5.30am the following day after she contacted police. Smith was found guilty of causing and inciting a teenage girl to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 12 years.

Gary Reid

Grandad EncroChat dealer Gary Reid was busted after posting selfies from his own home. The 54-year-old who used the handle "LockStar", supplied large quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis across Wirral.

Messages from his handle included mention of seven kilos of heroin costing £20,000, five kilos of cocaine costing £41,000, and the use of adulterants. Detectives found the grandad-of-five had included his home address, photos of himself and his home, and mentioned his children, before they raided his address in February last year.

Reid, of Ackers Road, Woodchurch, admitted three conspiracies involving the supply of cocaine, heroin and cannabis between March 23 and June 5, 2020. He was jailed for nine years and three months.

Joel Lawler

Joel Lawler, 20 and of Derby Street in Ormskirk, was sentenced to 32 months detention in a Young Offenders Institution after admitting possession with intent to supply ketamine, MDMA and cocaine. Image: Merseyside Police (Liverpool ECHO)

A mum dropped her son's drugs safe in the boot of her car and pulled off her drive as police closed in on her home. Gemma Morris was tipped off that Joel Lawler had been stopped by officers while dealing drugs from his Mercedes.

But police reached their home in time to stop the 41-year-old as she was about to drive away with his illicit stash. Lawler was stopped by police in Birkdale on the night of October 31, 2020, after receiving reports of suspicious activity by a man in a Mercedes.

He had eight wraps of ketamine, four wraps of cocaine, 1.5g of MDMA and £550, while his phone was said to have been "extremely active". Police decided to search Lawler's home in Derby Street, Ormskirk and caught Morris with the safe containing £3,565 in cash and further drugs.

Lawler, now 20, admitted possessing cocaine, MDMA, and ketamine with intent to supply. He was locked up for two years and eight months. His mum, who admitted perverting the course of justice, was handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

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