October’s monthly round-up is understandably dominated by the senseless and motiveless Lloyds Bank murder of Danny Johal by asylum seeker Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur. But other serious cases were also heard during the month. Here, reporter Martin Naylor highlights some of the cases which were covered throughout October.
The asylum seeker murderer
Loving father-of-three Danny Johal was stabbed to death by asylum seeker Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur in a Derby bank in what a judge called “a real-life horror film”.
Shocking footage played at Derby Crown Court showed the murderer drunkenly enter the Lloyds branch in St Peter’s Street, pull a knife from his waistband and plunge it into the chest of the Derby businessman as he stood in a queue waiting to withdraw money.
As the victim, who ran the Hens and Chickens Bar and Grill in Queensferry Gardens, Shelton Lock, fell, the blade of the weapon snapped, leaving it protruding from his body before his murderer calmly walked out, into the Derbion centre and then home.
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And the 47-year-old killer, of Western Road, Normanton, had entered the UK illegally months earlier “in a small boat” and had been refused asylum by the Home Office.
Jailing him for life and telling him it would be 25 years until he is eligible to apply for parole, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “Danny was a man doing nothing more than going to the bank to get money to pay his staff at the Hen and Chickens Indian restaurant.
Gurvinder Singh Johal, known as Danny to friends
“A loving father, a cherished friend and a man you murdered in front of people going about their everyday business and who witnessed the horror.
“You randomly selected Mr Johal and plunged a knife into his chest, a man you had never met before.
“It was a brutal and callous act – a real-life horror film for the family and friends of Mr Johal and for anyone who witnessed your horrific act.
“Armed with a knife in a busy city centre in the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight, having indicated you were going to kill someone, you randomly selected Danny Johal and plunged the knife in his chest. It was a very public killing.”
Louis Mabley KC, prosecuting, said Mr Johal, who lived with his wife, children and extended family in West Bromwich, was standing in a queue when he was attacked by the defendant on the afternoon of May 6, this year. Nur previously pleaded guilty to murder.
Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur -Credit:Derbyshire Police
The M1 drugs courier
Drugs courier Tofik Jakupi was found with cash, cannabis and cocaine when his hire car was stopped on the M1 while driving through Derbyshire.
The 28-year-old had helped set up a cannabis grow in Northamptonshire and was transporting some of it back to where he lived in Greater Manchester when officers pulled him over earlier this year.
The father-of-two also had a fake identity document – an Italian passport – on him and was sending money he earned back to Albania to support his family.
Jailing him for five years, Judge Martin Hurst said: “This is not somebody who is a drug addict, this is somebody taking drugs and money from A to B, delivering it as part of an organised crime group who was in an expensive hire car on a major motorway and was clearly trusted by the group.
“I don’t know if you are here legally or illegally but you will be deported back to Albania at the end of your sentence.
“You have a family back in Albania and it is a shame you couldn’t have stayed in Albania working there and building that country up rather than coming here committing crime.”
Alex Wolfson, prosecuting, said the police stopped a hire car being driven by the defendant by junction 29 of the M1 northbound, near Tibshelf, at 12.30pm on July 26, this year.
Jakupi, of Chapel Road, Oldham, pleaded guilty to production of cannabis, possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession of cannabis and possession of an identity card with improper intent.
Drugs courier Tofik Jakupi -Credit:Derbyshire Police
The Swadlincote paedophile
Paedophile Christopher Shaw sent “disgusting and depraved” photographs and videos of himself to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
The 57-year-old, of Swadlincote, told the teen she was “fit for her age” and encouraged her to send him videos of her touching herself.
But the girl he was committing such vile offences against was really a self-proclaimed paedophile hunter who contacted the police and the defendant was arrested.
Jailing him for three years and nine months, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “Your offences involved someone who turned out to be a decoy but you believed she was a 13-year-old girl.
“You asked her to keep (your conversations) secret, sent a naked photo of yourself, asked her for a photo and when she sent a photo, in which she was clothed, you told her she was ‘fit for her age’.
“You knew how old she was.
“On and on it went, disgusting and depraved conversations with someone you believed was just 13 years of age.
“These offences are far, far too serious for anything other than an immediate custodial sentence.”
The offences date back to 2021 and Shaw, of Moira Road, Donisthorpe, pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and attempting to engage a child in sexual communication.
As well as the jail term, the judge placed the defendant on the sex offender register for life and handed him a lifetime sexual harm prevention order.
Christopher Shaw has been jailed -Credit:Derbyshire Police
The woman beater
Ashley Bradbury, who abused three of his former partners, including assaulting them and strangling two of them, was jailed for five years.
The 37-year-old, of Shirebrook, was violent and abusive towards all of the women whilst he was in relationships with them, controlling what they did and repeatedly messaging them.
He pushed one woman to the ground several times, causing her to repeatedly bang her head on the pavement.
He also kicked her in the stomach while she was on the floor before pulling her up and pushing her against the wall, where she hit her head again.
His second victim was strangled by the neck in a bedroom until she thought she would pass out before being punched.
The defendant, of Byron Street, Shirebrook, was found guilty after trial of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, controlling or coercive behaviour and two counts of intentional strangulation.
He was also handed a restraining order preventing him from having any contact with one of the women for ten years. PC Aneta Kozicka, who led the investigation, said: “Bradbury demonstrated appalling behaviour towards all of these women, putting them in constant fear and subjecting them to assaults.
“I have no doubt that the effects of his offending will continue to impact on them all for some time to come. However, I hope that this outcome and the fact that Bradbury is now behind bars offers them some form of comfort.
“As a force, we are committed to protecting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice. Domestic abuse will not be tolerated.”
Ashley Bradbury has been jailed for five years. -Credit:Derbyshire Constabulary
The knifepoint robber
Derbyshire man Patryk Slepowronski was jailed for more than a decade after carrying out a string of robberies across the county border.
The 22-year-old, of Marston Montgomery, committed a number of offences in Upper Tean, Uttoxeter, Hixon, Stafford and Bentilee between November 2024 and January 2025 – where he is believed to have pocketed around £7,000 in cash.
He targeted Co-ops, Tesco Express stores, Morrisons and One Stops while armed with a knife and threatening staff members before emptying the tills of cash and leaving the scene. He also forced staff to open safes for him in a number of robberies.
After pleading guilty to six counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery at an earlier hearing, he was jailed for 12 years at Stafford Crown Court . He also pleaded guilty to eight counts of robbery, seven counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place and one count of attempted robbery for similar offences in Derbyshire, between July and December last year.
PC Libby May Houston, who investigated the case, said: “Slepowronksi was prolific in his offending and caused significant distress and alarm to those who were unfortunate enough to be faced with him in these robberies.
“It is not lost on us the emotional effect having a knife pointed at you can have on the victims in these incidents.”
He was jailed for 12 years at Stafford Crown Court last week -Credit:Staffordshire Police
The Derby drug dealer
Derby drug dealer Diontai Simpson, who used mass marketing techniques to sell Class A and B drugs, was jailed for more than two years.
The 23-year-old sent out mass marketing messages to people’s phones to advertise the sale of heroin, cocaine and cannabis.
As well as sending out three to four messages per day to customers, he also directed others to deal drugs on his behalf.
He was first arrested by officers out on patrol as they stopped a suspicious vehicle on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
After officers stopped the car on Osmaston Road, Derby, they discovered what was suspected to be a quantity of Class B drugs in the vehicle and brought Simpson in for questioning.
Officers searched a property linked to Simpson in Derby, where cannabis, cocaine and drug-dealing paraphernalia such as weighing scales, plus cash, were discovered.
Officers executed a second warrant at the same address on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, and Simpson tried to evade capture by climbing out of a bedroom window.
The defendant, of no fixed address, later pleaded guilty to supplying heroin, cocaine and cannabis between Friday, November 1, 2024 and Thursday, May 1, 2025.
PC Nathan Lawler said: “The sentence reflects the hard work the team has put into the case to bring Simpson to justice and to get him off our streets.
“Drugs have a devastating impact on our communities and, by supplying these illegal substances, Simpson was very much part of that problem.”
Diontai Simpson, 23, has been jailed for more than two years. -Credit:Derbyshire Constabulary