Here is a round-up of people from the West Mercia Police area who have been sent to prison recently after appearing in court.
A man has been sentenced to eleven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to child sex offences and bestiality.
Knill Watkins, 34, from Withington in Hereford he pleaded on 4 September 2023 and was sentenced on Friday 27 October at Hereford Crown Court.
He was sentenced for the following offences:
Three counts of making indecent photograph of a child
Observe a person doing a private act
Two counts of sexual penetration per vagina/anus by a person with a living animal
Possess extreme pornographic image/images portraying an act of intercourse/oral sex with a dead/alive animal.
Possess a prohibited image of a child
Two counts of assault a girl under 13 by touching
The offences took place between 2012 and 2021.
Detective Constable Rich Britton said: “Watkins is a dangerous individual who committed horrendous crimes. I’m pleased that he will now face the consequences for his actions and will rightly be identified as a sex offender for life and spend time in prison.
“We take all forms of child abuse incredibly seriously and I hope this result shows the effort we put into making sure children in our community are safe from sexual predators”
If you feel you are a victim of any sexual offence you can report it to us via West Mercia’s Victim Advice Line on 0800 952 3000 or visit www.victimadviceline.org.uk. This is a free, independent and confidential support service. In an emergency always dial 999.
A man has been given a four year sentence after he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.
Patrick Casey, aged 22 of Cornamuckla, Broomfield, Castleblayney in County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland was found guilty on Tuesday (November 7) of causing the death of 24-year-old Callum Powell on the A5 at Nesscliffe in Shropshire, in January 23, 2023.
The court heard how Casey, who was driving a HGV, was overtaking another HGV on a single carriageway, before colliding with a Vauxhall Astra driven by Callum, who was from Ruyton, Shropshire.
Sadly, Callum was pronounced dead at the scene.
Casey appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Tuesday (November 7) where he was given a four year and two month custodial sentence, as well as being handed a driving ban for seven years and one month.
Sergeant Alex Saxton, from the Operational Policing Unit based in Telford, said: “This is a tragic case, which has had a huge impact on all involved. Sadly, the whole incident could have easily been avoided if different decisions were made by Casey when in control of vehicle with such power.
“I know this sentence won’t bring Callum back, but I hope it sends a message to other road users to be more considerate when using the roads, as actions can have devastating consequences.”
Motorists are reminded to follow the rules of the Highway Code when overtaking other vehicles – particularly when overtaking larger vehicles such as HGVs – to keep themselves and other road users around them safe. Before overtaking, make sure the road is sufficiently clear ahead and only overtake when it is safe and legal to do so.
Overtaking large vehicles is more difficult – and takes more time to pass – so make sure that you have enough room ahead to complete your overtaking manoevre. Always take extra care at night and in poor visibility when it is harder to judge speed and distance.
Four men who were running a county lines drug dealing network in Evesham have been sentenced to a combined term of more than 21 years.
The sentence comes after a three-year investigation by police into a ‘deal line’ known as the Jay line. The Jay line was the name of the telephone number, or ‘deal line’, used to run the organised drug-dealing network.
The operation, codenamed Op Zeppelin, began with the arrest of drugs runners Joel Phillips, 19, and Jake Ford, 26, on April 4, 2020.
Information was received by South Worcestershire County Lines officers a local address was being cuckooed by people from the Birmingham.
A warrant was carried out at the address and both Phillips and Ford were found inside. Ford had £1,200 cash on him, Phillips was found in possession of a meat clever and Class A drugs.
Further drugs were then recovered hidden within the address and enquiries linked both Ford and Phillips to the Jay Line.
On April 21, 2020, the Jay Line’s ‘lieutenant’ Emmanuel Freeman-Douglas, 27, was arrested for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs after a warrant was executed at an address in the West Midlands area.
During the search more than 300g of cannabis was found together with more than £5,000 in cash.
Eight days later, information was received the Jay Line was back operating out of an address in Evesham. Several local drug users were stopped and found in possession of Class A drugs.
A nearby address was identified, officers entered, and Reece Young, 22, was found hiding in the bathroom. Several phones were recovered, plus more than £700 in cash and a taser disguised as a BMW car key.
On June 8, 2020, a warrant was executed at the home of Nathaniel Miles-Webster, 27, and at a second address in Kidderminster.
He was arrested at his home where £585 of cash and 385g of cannabis were found together with multiple phones and SIM cards linked to drug supply including Evesham’s Jay Line.
Overall, the investigation recovered more than £8,000 in cash, almost 1kg of cannabis and £1,000 worth of Class A drugs.
The line holder Nathaniel Miles-Webster, 27, of Heathside Drive, Birmingham, was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs during the hearing at Worcester Crown Court on Friday 3 November.
Emmanuel Freeman-Douglas, 27, of Shannon Road, Birmingham, was given a total custodial sentence of six years and seven months for being concerned in the supply of heroin, possession of criminal property, possession of class B drugs and being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine.
Reece Young, 22, of Harvest Road, Rowley Regis, got three years and ten months for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, while Jake Ford, 26, of Saffron House, Kings Norton got a three-year sentence for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property.
A fifth man, Joel Phillips, 19, of Bristol Road South, Northfield, was given a two-year sentence, suspended for 18 months for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
Detective Sergeant Luke Papps of South Worcestershire County Lines team said: “This was a protracted and complex investigation for the team expertly managed by the officer in charge DC Simpson.
“The conviction of these drug dealers marks the conclusion of a lengthy but successful investigation into the Jay Line which was dealing dangerous drugs into our communities here in South Worcestershire.
“Putting this gang behind bars removes another threat in our daily battle to rid the streets of this most impactful and harmful illegal activity as we continue to actively identify, investigate and prosecute all others attempting to do the same.”
The local community can help us by continuing to report any signs of criminal activity – the easiest way to do this is on our website. Any bit of information, no matter how small it may seem, could help make a big difference. You can report online under the Report A Crime section at West Mercia Police
If you have information about drugs and drugs supply and don’t want to speak to police, you can report information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or https://crimestoppers-uk.org/
This investigation forms part of Operation Target – West Mercia Police’s work to tackle serious and organised crime. New operation launched to target serious and organised crime | West Mercia Police )
For more information about County Lines and how to spot the signs of cuckooing visit County Lines: Protecting Our Communities and Families | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)
A man from the West Midlands has been sentenced to seven years for dealing drugs that contained the highly dangerous synthetic opioid Nitazene in Evesham.
Leon Brown, 35, of Baker Street, West Bromwich, was arrested in the Bretforton area on August 3 as part of an operation by South Worcestershire County Lines team.
Brown was sentenced to a total of seven years at Worcester Crown Court on Thursday 2 November.
The sentencing was for five years and seven months to run concurrently for two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
He was further sentenced to one month to run concurrently for one count of possession of a Class B drug and four months concurrent for possession of criminal property.
Brown was also ordered to serve a consecutive custodial term of 18 months for breaching a suspended sentence order, bringing his total term to just over seven years.
Detective Sergeant Luke Papps of the South Worcestershire County Lines Team said: “Bringing Brown to justice is a great result in our ongoing efforts to tackle county lines drug dealing, taking a serious offender off the streets of Evesham following some good investigative work by our officers.
DS Papps added the fact the drugs were mixed with Nitazene – man-made drugs often sold as heroin, or mixed in with it but which are in fact a synthetic opioid significantly stronger than heroin – was used as a serious aggravating factor in the Judge’s sentencing.
“The danger with these synthetic opioids is they look exactly like heroin but nitazenes, for example, are significantly stronger than heroin so there is clearly an increased risk to the user,” he said.
“We will not cease in our mission to get dealers like Brown off the streets of South Worcestershire and urge anyone with information about such criminal activity to report it to us so we can investigate.”
Further information on synthetic opioids, including the risks, is available through Talk to Frank- Synthetic Opioids | Effects of Synthetic Opioids | FRANK (talktofrank.com).
