A speeding motorcyclist who killed his friend with a dangerous manoeuvre and then left him to die in the road was put behind bars in Greater Manchester last week.
A husband who slit his wife's throat then tried to kill himself in a failed suicide pact and the mother of a notorious playboy drugs boss also appeared in court this week for sentencing.
Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases laid before judges.
Here are the defendants hauled before the courts in Greater Manchester over the past seven days.
Speeding motorcyclist who killed friend with dangerous manoeuvre then left him to die
A motorcyclist captured on CCTV racing his friend has been jailed for a 'shocking' manoeuvre which killed his pal during lockdown. Cambell Kennedy, then 23, and his friend Kyle Hempenstall, 28, had been using the roads like 'their own private race track' as they rode their powerful Yamaha R1 machines, a court was told.
Kennedy, who had earlier pulled a wheelie and given another driver the 'w***er hand gesture', led his friend between a Transit van and an HGV on the M62 when he suddenly hit the brakes and beckoned Kyle to follow, prompting the van to brake sharply and swerve towards the lorry.
Kyle's handlebar clipped the van as the gap narrowed. He lost control and his bike smashed into a highways maintenance digger. The father of one, who worked as a joiner, died of catastrophic injuries at the scene. Kennedy continued to speed away, turned around at the next junction and passed the scene of the crash he had just caused as he fled back to his home in Stockport.
The crash happened between junctions 12 for Eccles and 11 for Birchwood as the pair sped away from Manchester at 1pm on Wednesday May 27, 2020, when traffic was 'light' due to the national lockdown in place at the time, prosecutor Rob Hall told Manchester Crown Court.
The court heard Cambell had earlier told Kyle's father: "If I ever get into trouble, I'm off mate and I'm not stopping for the f***ing police." A police accident collision investigator found that Kennedy had averaged between 79mph and 88mph while Kyle averaged 83mph to 92mph before the crash, despite a 50mph speed limit on the M62 due to roadworks.
Alaric Bassano, defending, said his client had been of 'previous good character' and had 'expressed his remorse'. He said: "I appreciate some listening to that may consider them hollow words but the defendant is truly sorry for his conduct."
Cambell, 25, of Old Chapel Street in Edgeley, Stockport, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing death while uninsured. He will be released on licence half way through the sentence. When released, he will be banned from the roads for seven years. A charge of perverting the course of justice was ordered to 'lie on file'.
Greedy care home boss snatched thousands from dementia suffering residents
A shameless care home boss who stole thousands of pounds meant for elderly residents was unmasked as a thief by junior staff after they had to use their own paltry pay packets to buy toiletries and clothing for victims. Greedy manager Joanne Whalen, 51, is feared to have pocketed up to £25,000 over a three year period at the expense of frail and confused older people - many of whom had dementia, Alzheimers and Parkinsons Disease.
The mother of three was only found out after a care assistant on the minimum wage confided in a director at the Firs Hall Care Home in Failsworth near Oldham. Along with fellow junior colleagues, she said she had been using their own money to buy bath products, clothing and cigarettes for the residents as they noticed they were going without.
It emerged one man paid £21,966 pounds in cash to Whalen, of Droylsden Road, Manchester, over the course of a year in the mistaken belief it was for his elderly father's care fees. He then received legal letters wrongly warning him he was in arrears and that bailiffs had been summoned to reclaim goods from his home.
He was only able to prove he had paid as he had kept receipts from the money he handed over. At Minshull Street Crown Court, Whalen of Newton Heath, Manchester was branded 'despicable' by a judge who jailed her for 18 months after she admitted theft and fraud by abuse of position.
The court heard the thefts began in 2017 after Whalen racked up £45,000 worth of debt through mortgage arrears, council tax bills, credit cards and purchases from catalogues. In mitigation her lawyer Andrew Marsh said: ''She understands she engaged in dishonest behaviour over a period of time when she was in a position of trust. The seriousness cannot be understated and she does not seek to hide from that."
Care home mental health nurse found with stash of drugs in her handbag walks free from court
A mental health nurse was caught with a stash of drugs in her handbag whilst working at a care home. Shani McAdam, 32, was working at the home for elderly people in Stockport when suspicions were raised about discrepancies in medication.
Following a search of her handbag, staff found bottles containing 10 tablets of sleeping medication Zopiclone, 11 tablets of anxiety and sleep treatment Lorazepam along with 880 milligrams of broken Lorazepam tablets. McAdam, of Stockport, initially denied any knowledge of the drugs and pleaded not guilty to offences of theft by employee and possession of class C drugs.
At Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday (July 18) she pleaded guilty to the possession of class C drugs, and the court heard that the Crown Prosecution Service have not proceeded with the offence of theft. McAdam was handed a 12 month conditional discharge.
Prosecutor Maria Brannan said that McAdam began working at the care home for elderly patients who suffer with mental health issues in December 2017. Four months later on March 26 2018, the police were called due to suspicions raised about medication.
McAdam was said to have no previous convictions, but does have two cautions for theft by employee dating back to 2008. This related to her stealing £20 from the till of her employer, the court heard.
Mitigating, Stuart Duke said: “This is a sad case. She is a qualified nurse, she will have to report this matter to the nursing authorities and she will be subject to fitness to practice hearings. It may be that she will be unable to practice.”
The court heard that McAdam suffers from a number of physical and mental health issues, of which she was previously prescribed a ‘large amount’ of painkillers for. Mr Duke said his client became reliant on them and found it difficult to work 16 hour shifts, 16 days a week for ‘not particularly’ good wages. He said she is not currently working.
Sentencing, Judge Maurice Greene said: “It is quite clear you are not remorseful, but I still find you are entitled to credit. You were working as a nurse at the time and others were blamed for various matters. It is also clear you do have an illness that requires painkilling treatment. Though I do understand you are not being prescribed any further medication, and probably for good reason.”
McAdam, of Barnsfold Road, was handed a conditional discharge.
Man diagnosed with terminal cancer went on crime spree in ‘downward spiral’
A man diagnosed with terminal cancer began burgling sheds and houses after going on a ‘downward spiral’. Paul Daniels, 43, was told by doctors that he had a life expectancy of between five and ten years following his diagnosis.
He ‘spiralled’ into drug use and began stealing from houses in Cheadle to fund his addiction, Minshull Street Crown Court. From one shed he took £700 worth of power tools. And from a house he stole a PlayStation and the homeowner’s wallet. He went on to splurge over £200 at local shops using the man’s bank cards.
Daniels, of Wythenshawe, pleaded guilty to offences of burglary and eight counts of fraud. Citing exceptional circumstances, the sentencing judge felt able to suspend the jail term due to Daniel’s condition.
Daniels was said to have 33 previous convictions for 91 offences, and was said to be a ‘third strike burglar’ as he had two previous convictions for burglary. This means he would have been liable to a minimum jail sentence of three years.
Mitigating, Paul Hodgkinson said that his clients life expectancy ranges from five to ten years following a diagnosis of terminal cancer. “He spiralled into drug use in an attempt to deal with it,” he said. "He spiralled out of control, and foolishly stole to fund his drug habit.”
Sentencing, Recorder Daniel Prowse said that it has been four years since Daniels received his diagnosis. “I bear very much in mind in sentencing you, that very sadly you might not live a year from now,” he said. “In my judgement, your reduced life expectancy and the difficulty you have in custody with access to treatment, I find it would be unjust to approach the minimum tariff.”
Daniels, of Peel Hall Road, was handed 23 months imprisonment which was suspended for 24 months. He must also complete a nine month drug treatment programme, a Thinking Skills programme and 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
“The mitigation in this case is exceptional. However, if you breach this order, you will go to prison and you will likely die in prison.”
Abusive carer drew whiskers on disabled woman with mental age of four's face and offered her dog biscuits
A carer 'recklessly' drove with a woman who had the mental age of four on her knee before drawing whiskers and offering her dog biscuits, a court heard. Debra Ralph, 54, of Bolton, was looking after the woman at Agricola House in Tottington, Bury, which offers one-to-one care for adults with severe brain injuries.
The two incidents happened on July 10 last year during one shift. Ralph was struck off and arrested within days after what the judge, Tina Landale, described as "wilful abuse".
On the day in question Ralph first had the woman on her knee in a car which she drove backwards and forwards in the car park before drawing whiskers on her cheeks and making the tip of her nose black with a pen and offering her dog biscuits to the shock of her colleagues.
Prosecuting, Sophie Kenny, told the court that colleagues immediately told her this kind of behaviour constituted abuse. Three days later she was arrested by police for the ill treatment of the woman as a care worker and pleaded guilty to the offence in court.
Ms Kenny said Ralph was in a "position of responsibility" for this particularly vulnerable person. The woman, who was said to have a mental age of four, required one-to-one care and by doing this she "breached her position of trust as a carer in a caring role".
Defending Ralph, Rachel Shenton, told the court her behaviour was not "malicious" and she "didn't want to harm anyone. She conceded that it was "inappropriate and reckless behaviour on her part" but she had a "desire to entertain" the resident.
Ms Shenton said this was out of character for Ralph, who had been working as a carer for four years. She also said Ralph thought drawing on her face was equivalent to putting face paint on a child but Ralph accepts she didn't do this and the resident was not distressed at any point.
Ralph, of Ellesmere Road, Bolton, was handed a 12 week sentence suspended for 18 months. She was also ordered to do 180 hours unpaid work with 20 days of rehabilitation.
Man who cut wife's throat walks free from court after brother-in-law said he'd 'suffered more than enough'
A pensioner who cut his wife's throat then tried to kill himself in a failed suicide pact walked free from court after his spouse's sibling said he'd 'suffered more than enough' already. Peter Higson said he would have been 'very unhappy' if his 73-year-old brother-in-law Graham Mansfield were to be jailed for the killing of his sister Dyanne Mansfield.
Mrs Mansfield, 71, a retired import/export clerk, had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and had weeks to live when her husband of more than 40 years killed her in their garden in Canterbury Road, Hale. He then made serious attempts on his own life which were ultimately unsuccessful.
Mansfield said he called 999 after the failed attempts, while lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen, because he didn't want his sister to come across the 'extraordinary' scene. When police arrived, he told one officer 'please just leave me to die'.
He went on trial accused of murder and an alternative count of manslaughter, and pleaded not guilty to both. After deliberating for about an hour-and-a-half, Mansfield, a retired Manchester Airport baggage handler, was unanimously acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Jurors accepted that Mr and Mrs Mansfield had made a genuine suicide pact which she had agreed to. Sentencing, Mr Justice Goose said the killing was 'an act of love, of compassion to end her suffering'. The judge imposed a two year prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Drunken sex pest asked stranger for a kiss before groping her just days after being released from jail
A drunken sex pest who asked a stranger for a kiss before groping her committed the 'disgusting' crime just days after being released from jail. Andrew Sawdyke, who was previously locked up after following a terrified schoolgirl, has been caged again after he pestered a woman leaving work in Manchester city centre before sexually assaulting her.
Before being handed more jail time, Sawdyke, 33, vowed to reform himself and work to change his behaviour while in prison. But, Judge Anthony Cross QC refused to believe the him.
"I do not accept the promises that you make to abide by the law," the judge said, describing the vows as 'generally worthless'. "The probation report makes that perfectly plain. You are, they say, 'unwilling to co-operate and comply with restrictive conditions'. You do not understand quite how your behaviour effects the emotional well being of the women whose privacy you violate. You have been given chance, after chance, after chance, yet you fail to respond."
Noting his sentencing powers are constrained by guidelines, the judge added: "In my view the sentence ought to be longer but it can't be." Sawdyke, from Sale, was jailed for two years and four months.
Mum of playboy drugs boss Aram Sheibani who was 'embroiled in his criminality' jailed after Manchester Airport arrest
The mother of a playboy drugs boss was jailed for laundering the proceeds of his crimes. Fatemah Sheibani, 75, was arrested by Greater Manchester Police as she stepped off a plane from Turkey at Manchester Airport, the force has revealed.
Her son, Aram Sheibani, now 41, was jailed for 37 years in June last year. Sheibani, who a court heard enjoyed an extraordinary lavish lifestyle funded by crime, was involved in a high-level cocaine conspiracy for almost a decade before he was brought to justice.
He amassed a £5m property empire, stayed in luxury accommodation, travelled around the world and drove top of the range cars such as a Bentley and a Porsche. Police found he had more than £1m in cash - and had also shelled out for cosmetic surgery including veneers, hair transplants and a nose job.
Aram Sheibani, from Bowden, Trafford, was found guilty of a series of charges including obtaining a money transfer by deception; possession of criminal property; converting criminal property; fraud; forgery; conspiracy to supply controlled drugs and possession of a controlled drug of class A, together with perverting the course of justice.
Now his mother has joined him behind bars. Fatemah Sheibani was sentenced by a judge at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court to 10 months after an investigation led by GMP's Money Laundering Team, the force said. She pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud and money laundering.
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