The Manchester Evening News looks back on the cases before our region’s courts this weekPaul Britton, Andrew Bardsley and Amy Walker Court reporter
18:13, 29 Aug 2026
Top row, Gabriel Levy and Lewis Hanson; bottom row, Amin Akhoondi and Kade Cox(Image: GMP/M.E.N.)
A 20-year-old drug dealer shot on the street by police after trying to sell a potentially lethal gun is among the criminals locked up this week in Greater Manchester.
Lewis Hanson, who sold cannabis and cocaine from the age of 14, who was shot in the elbow by a police firearms officer during his arrest in Whitefield, Bury. He was attempting to sell a modified Retay 17 blank firing pistol similar in design to a Glock 17.
Also locked up this week included Gabriel Levy who made death threats to two mosques in Manchester days after the Heaton Park synagogue terror attack, and a prolific bike thief who launched a brutal attack on a biker.
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Prison terms are handed out to the worst offenders. Each week Manchester Evening News reporters are on hand to cover the most serious cases.
Here is a roundup of the cases heard before our region’s court this week:
Gabriel Levy
Gabriel Levy(Image: CPS)
A man who made death threats to two mosques in Manchester days after the Heaton Park synagogue terror attack was jailed for 28 months,
Gabriel Levy, 21, made an anonymous phone call to the Al-Sunnah Mosque in Cheetham Hill on the afternoon of October 4, 2025. Using a withheld number, he told the call receiver: “I’m going to come to your mosque and kill you.”
Police went to his home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, just a few hours later and seized his mobile device. The CPS said it then emerged that a second threatening phone call was made.
Levy, who is Jewish, called the Iqra Mosque in Longsight on the same day and told a member of staff: “I am going to kill you Muslim”.
In a statement, the CPS said he admitted to being angry after watching news coverage of the October 2 synagogue attack, in which two men were killed at Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in Crumpsall. Levy pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and was sentenced on Wednesday at Leeds Crown Court to 28 months in prison.
Read the full story here: ‘Angry’ man made terrifying threats to Manchester mosque two days after synagogue terror attack
Lewis Hanson
Lewis Hanson(Image: GMP)
A drug dealer who sold cannabis on the streets from the age of 14 has been locked up for attempting to sell a potentially deadly gun.
Lewis Hanson, 20, who was shot in the elbow by a police firearms officer during his arrest in Whitefield, Bury, also sold cocaine.
A judge said it was ‘frankly terrifying’ that someone of his age could run a ‘drugs enterprise’ and seek to sell the weapon – a modified Retay 17 blank firing pistol similar in design to a Glock 17.
Hanson, of Parr Lane, Bury, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a class B drug, conspiracy to sell a prohibited weapon, possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing ammunition without a firearm certificate, possession of a class A drug with intent to supply, and possession of a class B drug with intent to supply.
He was sentenced to a total of 82 months – just under seven years – in a young offender institution.
Read the full story here: Dealer who flogged drugs from age of 14 shot by cops during arrest before being caged over gun plot
Kade Cox
Kade Cox(Image: Greater Manchester Police)
A prolific and violent thief who launched a brutal attack on a biker in broad daylight has been jailed.
Kade Cox, 20, and two other masked individuals were caught on CCTV forcing a biker to crash into a wall on Melrose Avenue, in Sale, on April 17 last year year. As the man fell to the ground, the group launched a violent attack, during which one repeatedly hit him with a machete.
Despite attempting to hold on, the group stole his electric bike and fled. He was left with a number of serious injuries including a severe laceration to his thumb, and cuts to his face.
Cox, who was identified through an extensive CCTV trawl, was also found to be involved in three other thefts or attempted thefts of motorbikes and electric bikes between April and July 2025.
Cox, of Walker Road, was jailed for 10 years after previously pleading guilty to robbery, burglary with intent to steal and a further two counts of burglary where bikes were stolen during both incidents.
Read the full story here: Prolific and violent thief jailed over brutal machete gang attack on biker
Amin Akhoondi
Amin Akhoondi(Image: GMP)
A banned driver with a ‘shocking’ criminal record reached speeds of 128mph on the M56 motorway as he tried to escape from police – before crashing at Manchester Airport.
Amin Akhoondi, 22, who was disqualified from driving at the time, also drove at speeds of 98mph on built-up urban roads with 30mph speed limits in Wythenshawe. He’s now been jailed over what a judge called ‘an appalling example’ of dangerous driving.
Akhoondi ended up smashing the Volkswagen Golf he was driving into a steel barrier at Manchester Airport’s Terminal Two, Manchester Crown Court. He suffered a ‘significant’ spinal injury in the crash and spent 10 days in hospital in the aftermath.
At Manchester and Salford magistrates court on May 16, Akhoondi pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance. He was committed to the crown court for sentence, where he was jailed for 16 months.
Read the full story here: His criminal record was already shocking, then he did something ‘appalling’ on the M56
Patrick Hartley
Patrick Hartley
A cowboy builder who ‘overpromised and underdelivered’ left damage worth £1m to homes in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. A court heard how Patrick Hartley left homeowners without adequate roofing.
The 40-year-old would take customers’ money before moving on to the next job, leaving work unfinished. His actions put families under strain as they took on more debt to have the work put right, Lancs Live reports.
The court heard Hartley, from Bacup, Rossendale, stung 13 families in a 30-month period from 2020. His fraudulent activity landed him a prison sentence of three years and nine months.
Read the full story here: Cowboy builder overpromised, underdelivered and left families ‘in a state’