We're naming and shaming the people who've appeared in courts around Greater Manchester this week. Here's a round-up of some of the cases dealt with in the region.
The police inspector who brutally murdered his wife and dumped her body in a lake
A police inspector who murdered his detective wife was told he must serve a minimum 19 years before he can be considered for release.
Darren McKie, 43, stared straight ahead and showed no reaction when he was jailed for life for the ‘brutal killing’ of his wife Leanne, 39.
The callous, debt-ridden senior police officer left his desk at Stretford police station halfway through his shift on September 28 last year.
He went home, to Burford Close in Wilmslow, and strangled his wife after she found out about a £54,000 loan he had applied for behind her back, calling him a ‘liar’ in an angry text message.
McKie broke two bones in Leanne’s neck while he crushed her throat.
The judge said he had ‘no doubt’ that McKie killed his wife because of ‘repercussions’ - the sack or criminal action - after she discovered he had hacked into her work computer to get a payslip and forged her signature for a loan he applied for behind her back as the family’s finances spiralled out of control.
McKie, who was in charge of resource management at the Trafford division of GMP, put Leanne’s body into her Mini Countryman car and parked it around the corner, before going to collect their three children.
After putting his children to bed, McKie drove the Mini to Poynton Lake, where he dragged Leanne’s body 140 metres into the water.
The officer abandoned the car, but was stopped twice by police as he walked the eight miles home. On the second occasion, he was found without shoes. He had dumped his trainers in a bin as he neared home.
McKie’s shocking crime began to unravel when the trainers were discovered and found to have his wife’s blood on them, as well as soil in the tread from Poynton Lake.
In the middle of his trial at Chester Crown Court, he finally admitted manslaughter but claimed it was a terrible accident. Last week a jury found McKie guilty of murder by a majority of 11 to one.
The drugs baron and his gang caught out after £66 MILLION worth of heroin and cocaine were found hidden in a lorry
A drugs baron who flooded the region with cocaine and heroin from his home in an affluent commuter village has been jailed after the highest-value drug seizure ever made by Greater Manchester Police .
Julian Solomon was one of eight men involved in a sophisticated continental trafficking network which saw vast amounts of class A drugs delivered from Belgium to the UK via Holland.
From his home in Hale - close to Manchester Airport - the former nightclub bouncer arranged wholesale distribution to the region’s gangsters.
Now he has been jailed for 25 years.
The downfall of Solomon and his fellow conspirators came after heroin and cocaine worth £66.5m was found hidden in a lorry carrying a tractor at King George Docks in Hull last year.
The swoop was the culmination of months of surveillance by officers from GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group.
It led to seven of the gang being jailed - for over 103 years in total - after being convicted of drug conspiracy charges. The facts can only be reported now that the eighth man involved pleaded guilty - he awaits sentence.
The men were sentenced as follows.
Julian Solomon, 37, of Grove Lane, Hale, was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Jason Starmer, 42, of HMP Liverpool, pleaded guilty to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 21 years. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm prior to being sentenced.
David Reece, 55, of Ludlam Ave, Nottinghamshire, was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 16 years.
Everton Bailey, 57, of Mandarin Way, Derbyshire, was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 16 years.
Graham Rawling, 58, of Sussex Road, Southport, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was found guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin, and was sentenced to 10 years.
Gerrard Young, 48, of Heathwood Road, Burnage, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to nine years.
James Newhall, 42, of Delph Common Road, Ormskirk, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to six years and nine months.
Frank Eaton, 47, of Bag Lane, Ashbourne, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and will be sentenced on April 20.
The 'depraved' sex offender who raped a child - just months after getting out of jail
A ‘depraved’ sex offender who befriended a child over Facebook before raping her - just months after being released from jail following an earlier attack on a teenager - was jailed.
Osman Ali, 25, began speaking to the schoolgirl on the social media site before manipulating her into believing they were a couple.
He regularly messaged the youngster before arranging to meet her for the first time in October 2016.
Just months earlier, Ali had been released four years into an eight year prison sentence after being convicted, alongside two other men, of the rape of a teenager.
Over the next seven months Ali met the girl regularly at weekends before raping her a house in Rochdale.
His sickening offending was exposed when a concerned resident found the girl walking through the streets of Rochdale in a ‘distressed state’ after her ‘boyfriend’ had broken up with her.
Ali, of Corbett Street, Rochdale, was sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of raping a child under 13 at Minshull Street Court.
He was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
The drug dealer from an 'untouchable' gang who hid an ‘assassin’s kit’ under his bed
A drug dealer from a south Manchester crime gang who hid an ‘assassin’s kit’ under his bed was jailed.
A Makarov pistol, a silencer and seven bullets were found in Choudhry Kamran Altaf’s room by detectives as they unravelled the Chorlton -based outfit.
The 30-year-old acted as the ‘custodian’ of the gun for the gang before it was smashed by GMP ’s Xcalibre unit.
The leader of the gang urged other members to ‘carry a piece’ when they peddled cocaine and cannabis.
Altaf, who missed his wedding after being arrested, has been jailed for seven years and eight months.
His fellow gang members - kingpin Raheel Rehman, his right hand man Fahad Rasul, Ihitsham Raja, Mohammed Dhiya Ali and Mohammed Zia Munir - previously received jail terms totalling more than 40 years.
Manchester Crown Court previously heard how police raided on Ali’s house in Stanton Street in Gorse Hill as they set about bringing the gang down.
Officers found 3.25kg of high purity cocaine and a Taser disguised as a police torch.
Other homes were raided and more drugs, cash and ammunition were found.
At Munir’s home, which he shared with his wife and children, officers discovered 1.75kg of cannabis, 180g of cocaine and 32 rounds of 7.62 ammunition.
The 'mob' of Scottish AC/DC fans who launched a brutal attack on a father and son for 'admiring' their hired limo
A 'mob' of Scottish AC/DC fans launched a brutal attack on a father and son who touched their hired limousine have been jailed.
Stuart and Liam Kelly had also been to watch the Aussie rockers at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester when they were attacked in June 2016.
As they searched for their pre-booked taxi, they came across a limousine hired by Calvin Cox, Steven Gordon, Jon Johnston and Gary Mullen, who had travelled from Aberdeenshire in Scotland for the concert.
The limo driver had been unable to park where he dropped the men off because of road closures, so met them near the stadium and walked them back to the vehicle.
Manchester Crown Court heard that when they got to the car park the men saw Mr Kelly and his son, from Northwich, ‘admiring’ the limo.
Gordon and Johnston approached Liam, swore at him and punched him in the face, knocking his glasses off.
The pair carried on punching him in the head and body, the court head.
Mr Kelly tried to jump in and defend his son, but was hit and knocked to the floor by Gordon and Johnson.
Cox, 27, and Mullen, 45, then started stamping on Mr Kelly and kicking him in the head.
Gordon, 41, and Johnston, 28, continued to kick and stamp on Liam as he lay unconscious on the floor.
It was only when the limo driver intervened and pulled the men away that the attack ended.
Cox, Johnston, Gordon and Mullen - who were all drunk at the time - have now been jailed.
Gordon was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, Johnston was handed two years and six months while Cox and Mullen were both jailed for two years and two months.
All four defendants pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. Gordon and Johnson also admitted common assault.
The thugs who robbed people by choking them - then tried to spend the cash on booze
Violent robbers who were caught trying to buy booze with money stolen from people they choked have been caged.
Lewis Nash, 18, attacked a cashier from behind, choking him and dragging him to the floor.
As the man began to lose consciousness, Callum Hugill, 19, and Nash kicked him and demanded access to the till.
The pair later jumped a man on Frog Lane, choking him before taking his cards and phone.
Their crime spree came to an end when they were refused service trying to buy alcohol at a shop on Gidlow Lane.
When another customer refused to buy it on their behalf, Hugill and Nash told him they'd ‘just done an armed robbery’.
Preston Crown Court heard Hugill listed his occupation as ‘crime at HMP Forest Bank Prison’ on Facebook after being bailed - and boasted about the fact he'd been released.
Hugill, of Wigan Lower Road, and Nash were both jailed for three years and four months, having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Nash, already of HMP Forest Bank, will also serve a sentence of five years and four months for an assault in Lancashire.
The pervert who spent years secretly filming up women's skirts and 'collecting' extreme porn
A public school-educated businessman who used a spy camera hidden inside his shoe to secretly film up the skirts of women was jailed.
Stafford Cant, 47, adapted one of his trainers to have a lens hidden under the laces - then roamed around boutiques and supermarkets in Alderley Edge to obtain illicit ‘upskirt’ images of unsuspecting victims.
The management consultant, who has a Masters degree in philosophy, also had his wrist watch and car key fob fitted with spy cameras so he could film the back of women’s legs.
Cant’s squalid double life was unmasked after police, acting on a tip off, raided his former home in Alderley Edge, on January 31 last year, and found 222,000 videos and pictures, including 20 films dating back seven years showing footage of women being targeted in various supermarkets.
One video, from 2011, showed Cant covertly filming a female work colleague’s legs under his desk. Another illicit sequence showed his own unsuspecting ex-girlfriend lying naked with him on a floor.
Other films seized included horrific images he downloaded from the internet of children being abused and women being suffocated and strangled.
He later claimed he had a ‘compulsion to collect things’.
Shocking details of the raid emerged at Chester Crown Court, where Cant, now of Fountain Street, Macclesfield, was jailed for three years after he admitted outraging public decency, voyeurism and possessing and distributing indecent images.
The drunken West Ham fan who hurled abuse at Manchester Airport staff
A financier hurled abuse at airport staff after he was told he was too drunk - and too late - to fly home to Belfast following a boozy visit to Manchester for a football match.
West Ham fan Stephen Brown travelled to see Man City take on the Londoners at the Etihad Stadium last December.
The 42-year-old father-of-two drank at least nine pints of beer over the course of the day.
After watching his team lose 2-1, he made his way to Manchester Airport , before being turned away when he was seen staggering up to a boarding gate as it was about to close.
As the Flybe jet took off for his native Belfast without him, Brown lost his temper and had to be held back by a friend as he launched into a foul-mouthed rant at two airport officials manning the departure gate at Terminal 3.
A senior airport employee was told: “This is your f****** fault. Get me the f*** out of this airport.”
Brown then asked him: “Do you want me to be racist to you? Do you?”
Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard Brown told another member of staff: “You fat f***. I’m going to rip your head off.”
Brown apologised when he appeared before magistrates and admitting using threatening behaviour. He was cleared of racially-aggravated conduct.
He was fined £1,500.
The restaurant boss who used an ex-employee's details to get him and family off speeding fines
A former restaurant owner spent years using an ex-employee’s details to get him and his children off a raft of speeding fines.
Israr Fazal, 61, used someone else’s identity to avoid two fines and penalty points for offences he had committed, got his daughter off the hook three times with the same method - and used the bogus details to get each of his sons off once each.
He used the details of Rohan Ratnakumar, who had worked for him at the Royal Naz Indian restaurant, in Rusholme, as a student in the late 1990s.
The unsuspecting victim suffered years of hassle and stress as a result.
Fazal of Larkhill Road, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, has 17 aliases.
He pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at Minshull Street Crown Court, but at sentencing there was no suitable punishment found for him.
His 18-month prison sentence was suspended for two years as he was considered to ill to survive jail. Poor health also meant no condition of unpaid work or rehabilitation activity could be imposed instead.
And despite prosecutor Lisa Boocock describing Fazal as ‘wealthy’ his defence argued he was on benefits and of limited means, so no fine or costs were imposed.
The doctor whose dangerous driving led to the death of his daughter
A doctor whose dangerous driving led to a high speed crash which claimed the life of one of his children had his jail term cut.
Chizoro Edohasim’s nine year-old daughter Olivia died after he ‘shot’ through a red light and ploughed into a brick wall in Altrincham.
The 47-year-old dad-of-three was seriously injured, as well his other daughter Eva, 11. Both had to be cut from the wreckage.
Despite pleas for mercy from his wife Dr Edohasim was jailed for four years after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Manchester Crown Court in January.
He's now had that sentence cut by a year by top judges, who said his ‘powerful’ mitigation had not been ‘sufficiently’ taken into account.
Sitting with two other judges, Mr Justice Goss reduced the jail term from four years to three years. Dr Edohasim’s driving ban was cut from five years to four-and-a-half years.
The elderly driver who mowed down a hero dad as he pushed his young daughter to safety
An 89-year-old driver who collided with and killed a dad-of-two was spared jail after his victim’s devout Christian family said they'd forgiven him.
Paul John, 45, was hit ‘head on’ by Edward Whalen’s car - after pushing his daughter Angela out of its path.
Seconds before swerving into Mr John at a junction in Wythenshawe, Whalen hit a child’s buggy, dragging a young mother along with it.
Whalen, who was 88 at the time and is due to turn 90 in June, was warned at a previous hearing to expect a custodial sentence.
But Mr John’s family are devout Christians - and in a move described as ‘exceptional’, wrote a letter urging the judge to show mercy.
Sentencing him for causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Manchester Crown Court, Judge Martin Rudland said it was not in public interest to send Whalen to jail.
Whalen was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years, and was banned from driving for the rest of his life.
The Curry Mile off-licence that became a 'honey pot' for bank card thieves
An off-licence on the Curry Mile became ‘a honey pot’ for thieves after ‘word went out’ they could use stolen bank cards there. Now one of the shop's owners is in jail.
Bank cards snatched from pubgoers and shoppers in Manchester city centre were used within 30 minutes at Boom store on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme in a scam which netted thousands of pounds.
Fraudsters took the cards to the shop and paid vastly overinflated prices, in return for a cash fee, cigarettes and booze.
During one brazen transaction, a crook paid almost £700 for an empty cardboard box - money which ended up in the shop’s bank account.
Over a four month period, the scheme was worth thousands of pounds.
Shorab Bhuiyan, 43, was jailed for 18 months, and his wife Bobby Bhuiyan, 39, received a sentence of nine months, suspended for 18 months. Both denied conspiracy to defraud and money laundering but were found guilty after a trial.
Three men who used stolen cards in the shop were also sentenced.
Mohammed Jama, 25, of South Grove, Ardwick; Omar Mohammed, 21, of Ashton Old Road, Openshaw; and Mustafa Hassan, 25, of Frobisher Close, Longsight, were all spared jail.
They said that they were offered ‘incentives’ such as booze and cash to go into the shop and use the stolen cards, but they did not commit the original thefts themselves.
The killer who driver had his sentence cut - because the lab had to do a drugs test again
A hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian had his sentenced slashed after blood tests - taken to measure drugs in his system - had to be redone because of a forensics lab issue.
Matthew Bravender, 28, was jailed for five-and-a-half years after he admitted causing the death of Alan Strong, 52, by careless driving while over the legal limit for a prescribed drug.
Bravender sped away from the scene of the crash in Salford on April 30, 2016.
He told police he'd taken a ‘little bit of cocaine’ and smoked cannabis the night before the accident.
Bravender, who has a previous conviction for producing cannabis, was sentenced at the ‘highest level’, based on forensic evidence of drugs in his bloodstream.
But the tests had to be redone due to issues involving the forensics lab, and the results were different.
The fresh results showed a ‘minimal quantity of drugs’ in Bravender’s system, putting him ‘in the lowest category of the sentencing guidelines’.
His lawyers argued the original jail term was too harsh.
Senior judges at the Court of Appeal have now halved Bravender’s sentence, to two years and eight months.
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