CPS News Brief

Men convicted of stabbing three teenagers at Notting Hill carnival

Men convicted of stabbing three teenagers at Notting Hill carnival

Two men who stabbed three teenage boys in an attack at Notting Hill carnival have been convicted today (15 December).

Eddy Mombele, 24, and Jordan Clarke, 20, stabbed two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old boy during the Carnival in August 2016, mistakenly believing these teenagers to be part of a rival gang.

A jury at the Old Bailey heard that when a friend of the defendants’ was stabbed at the carnival, they decided to seek revenge. The defendants were carrying weapons described as a Rambo-style ‘zombie’ knife and a flick knife.

Mombele and Clarke used these knives to cause serious injuries. One victim suffered significant internal injuries and another needed stitches. 

A large ‘zombie’ knife, a large blade with a serrated edge, was later found at Clarke’s home. Zombie knives have been banned in the UK since August 2016.

Punam Chopra, from the CPS, said: “These were very serious and frightening incidents in which Mombele and Clarke ambushed and attacked their victims without warning, causing serious injuries.

“All three required hospital treatment following quick action from paramedics and police at the scene, with one victim hospitalised for nine days having been stabbed in the stomach and forearm. 

“Both defendants denied they were responsible, however the CPS built a strong case, using a combination of eye witness accounts and CCTV footage to prove that Mombele and Clarke were behind the attacks.”

Both men will be sentenced on 21 December. 

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Notes to editors:

• Punam Chopra is a Specialist Prosecutor in the International Justice and Organised Crime Division at the CPS.
• Eddy Mombele and Jordan Clarke denied three counts of wounding with intent and one count each of having an offensive weapon but were convicted by a jury on 15 December.

Lorry driver jailed for fatal M69 collision

Lorry driver jailed for fatal M69 collision

 

A lorry driver who veered onto a motorway hard shoulder after using his phone at the wheel has been sentenced to eight years in prison today (14 December) after causing death by dangerous driving. 

Felix Gillon, 56, destroyed his phone and SIM card immediately after the collision in an attempt to conceal evidence.

Leicester Crown Court heard how Gillon was driving a flat-bed lorry on the M69 in Leicestershire in May 2016 when he collided with another truck that was stationary on the hard shoulder.

The prosecution’s case was that Gillon had veered towards the hard shoulder because he had been using his mobile phone to access the internet, in particular pornographic websites, immediately prior to the crash.

The collision forced the stationary truck into the crash barrier, crushing its driver, Kerry Pemberton.

Janine Smith, from the CPS, said:

“This tragic collision was caused by Felix Gillon driving into Mr Pemberton’s stationary vehicle because he had allowed himself to be distracted by his phone.

“When deciding whether to prosecute a defendant for causing death by dangerous driving, the CPS will consider avoidable distractions as a significant factor.

“On looking at the evidence of Gillon’s mobile phone activity, it was clear that he had chosen to access the internet and this had inevitably caused a distraction. He then attempted to conceal the evidence provided by his phone’s browsing history. 

“I would like to express my sincere sympathies to Mr Pemberton’s family and friends.”

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Notes to editors

• Janine Smith is Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East Midlands. 
• Gillon was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.

Lorry driver admits injuring cyclist after motorway footbridge crash

A lorry driver who caused a footbridge to collapse onto a busy motorway after his load struck it, has pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving today (Thu 14 Dec).

A motorcyclist was left with serious injuries after sliding his bike to avoid colliding with the fallen concrete bridge on the M20 in Kent. The motorway had to be closed for more than 24 hours over the bank holiday weekend in August 2016.

Lorry driver Alan Austen, 64, was pulling a trailer carrying an excavator when the arm of the machinery struck the footbridge at around midday on Saturday 27 August 2016.

Austen appeared at Maidstone Crown Court today where he pleaded guilty to one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and must pass an extended test before he will be allowed to drive again.

David Skelton, from the CPS, said: 

“It was our case that it would have been obvious to a competent and careful driver that the load was too high to be transported safely under the bridge. 

“The defendant had supervised the loading of the items and did not measure the height before setting off, ignoring concerns raised by two colleagues. He stopped just prior to the crash to check his load but this was obviously inadequate. 

“His actions led to the bridge collapse which left one man with serious injuries and which had a huge financial impact on the whole region, closing off a vital transport link in the South East during a busy travel period.

“It was fortunate that no-one was killed and more people were not hurt in this incident, which could have been much more serious.”

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Notes to Editors

·         David Skelton is a Senior Crown Prosecutor in CPS South-East

Gang jailed for using drones to fly items into prisons

A gang have today (13 December) been jailed for over 37 years after they were found guilty of using drones to import prohibited items into nine prisons across the country.

The group of 11 men and women, aged between 19 and 51, were made up of serving prisoners in various jails and their accomplices on the outside.

Between July 2015 and May 2017, the gang trafficked prohibited items such as psychoactive substances, crack cocaine, cannabis, heroin, mobile phones, sim cards, Freeview boxes, hacksaw blades and screwdrivers into HMP Hewell, Stoke Heath, Featherstone, Birmingham, Oakwood, Lindholme, Stocken, Liverpool and Risley.

The gang wrapped the items together in packages, sometimes concealing them in drink bottles, before throwing them into the prison grounds or flying them in using drones.

The drones would either deposit the packages in the prison grounds to be picked up by inmates, or they were flown to a specific cell window for an inmate to pull the package in using a broom handle with a hook attached to it.

They used mobile phones to contact each other when drop offs were made.

A number of the packages were intercepted by officers and a police investigation was launched.

Using data from mobile phones and drones, the prosecution was able to identify the defendants as the perpetrators of the offences.

The recovered drugs were found to have an estimated value in prison of up to £370,000. However, there were multiple drone flights that were not intercepted so the true value of the drugs alone, based on an average delivery, is estimated to be up to £1.2 million.

At Birmingham Crown Court, 10 out of the 11 defendants pleaded guilty and one was found guilty after a trial.

Eran Cutliffe from the CPS, said:

“This was a highly organised gang who worked in an extremely coordinated manner in order to import prohibited items into prisons.

“They used various techniques, including drones, to smuggle contraband such as drugs, tools and mobile phones. The financial value of these goods was far greater in prison than in the outside world.

“The gang members sought to profit from the misery caused by prison drug use and they must now face the consequences of their actions.”


NOTES TO EDITORS

Eran Cutliffe is a Senior Crown Prosecutor and she is based in the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service’s Complex Casework Unit.

The defendants were sentenced to the following:

• Francis Ward (dob 22/07/1971), 46, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited items into prison and one count of conspiracy to supply psychoactive substances. He has been jailed for a total of two years and four months imprisonment
• John Hickinbottom (dob 19/12/1966), 51, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance. He has been jailed for a total of four years and eight months imprisonment
• John Quinn (dob 6/8/1981), 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance. He has been jailed for a total of four years and eight months imprisonment
• Craig Hickinbottom (dob 4/7/1982), 37, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance. He has been jailed for a total of seven years two months imprisonment
• Mervyn Foster (dob 2/10/1979), 38, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance. He has been jailed for a total of six years and eight months imprisonment
• Sanjay Patel (dob 1/9/1979), 38, pleaded guilty to possessing an electronic communication device whilst in custody. He has been jailed for a total of five years and three months imprisonment
• Yvonne Hay (dob 10/2/1975), 41, was found guilty following a trial by jury of two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance. She has been jailed for a total of two years and four months imprisonment
• Ashley Rollinson (dob 9/9/1995), 23, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison. He has been jailed for a total of 11 months
• Lisa Hodgetts (dob 12/6/1984), 33, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. She has been handed a 16 month suspended prison sentence
• Terry Leach (dob 2/5/1998), 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison. He has been handed a two year suspended prison sentence
• Artaf Hussain (dob 5/8/1986), 31, pleaded guilty to one count of being concerned in supplying a controlled drug. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Woman imprisoned after dog attack

A woman whose dog attacked a dozen children in a vicious attack, leaving three in hospital, has today been sentenced to four years imprisonment at Newcastle Crown Court. 

Claire Neal, 39, pleaded guilty to owning the Staffordshire bull terrier which attacked 12 children in May last year after it was let out of her property by a visitor. 

The dog then began playing with a number of the children in a nearby park but suddenly became aggressive and attacked them, leaving all of the children with puncture wounds on their arms and legs. Three children had to remain in hospital overnight. 

Local residents captured the dog and police were called to the scene. The animal was transported to secure kennels by police and subsequently destroyed. 

Officers traced the dog back to Neal, and discovered that in February 2016 she had been ordered to destroy the same dog after another attack. A destruction order had been issued under the Dangerous Dogs Act and she had been banned from keeping dogs for five years. 

Neal pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing. 

Sharon Elves of the CPS said: 

“This was a terrifying and horrific attack on a group of young children by a known dangerous dog. Were it not for the heroic actions of two local people in subduing the dog, the significant injuries sustained by the children could have been much worse.

“All dog owners must ensure that their animals are under control at all times and there are significant penalties, including imprisonment, for those who are negligent in these responsibilities. Had the dog been destroyed in accordance with the earlier court order, then this attack would never have taken place.”

Bank employee who created fake accounts to launder money is jailed

Bank employee who created fake accounts to launder money is jailed

A bank employee who opened more than 100 fake accounts to launder hundreds of thousands of pounds in stolen money has been sentenced today (12 December).

Jinal Pethad, 29, of Edgware, worked for Barclays Bank and set up a number of accounts in false identities for the purposes of money laundering. He also used Barclays’ internal systems to assist criminals in controlling the accounts so that they could obtain stolen money paid into them.

Pavel Gincota contacted Pethad to get him to set up the accounts, facilitate transfers and assist him to control the accounts. Gincota, along with Ion Turcan, had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money launder. They received five years eight months and seven years’ imprisonment respectively.

Gincota and Turcan used the accounts set up by Pethad to receive stolen funds, moving them between the fake accounts before the money was withdrawn.

Pethad pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial and was sentenced to six years and four months in prison.

Tom Guest, of the CPS, said: “Pethad abused his position of trust in his job to set up more than 100 accounts, and to access further fake accounts, all for the purpose of hiding and obtaining money stolen from businesses and individuals.

“The CPS presented evidence which showed the network of accounts used, how those accounts were being controlled by Gincota and Turcan, and the important role of Pethad within the bank who facilitated this criminality and who benefitted personally from the conspiracy.”

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Notes to editors:

• Tom Guest is a Specialist Prosecutor in the International Justice and Organised Crime Division at the CPS.
• Jinal Pethad pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal, disguise, transfer, convert and/or remove from England and Wales, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.