The Manchester Evening News looks back on the cases before our courts this week
Mohammed Sharif, Kevin Wyatt and Matthew Johns(Image: GMP)
A dangerous rapist, a drug dealer and a drone operator caught flying near Strangeways prison were among the criminals to be jailed this week in Greater Manchester.
Kevin Wyatt was jailed for life after he admitted raping a disabled woman in her own home, after posing as a plumber. He then marched his terrified victim to a cash machine and ordered her to withdraw money.
Also jailed was a drug dealer who sent packages of cannabis from America back home. Matthews Johns was caught out after his fingerprints were found on the packages.
Mohammed Sharif was another criminal to be jailed. He flew a drone over prisons including HMP Manchester in a smuggling bid.
Prison terms are handed out to the worst offenders. And 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 courts this week:
Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns(Image: Greater Manchester Police)
A drug dealer was caught after sending packages of cannabis to the UK from America. Matthew Johns, 42, flew out to New York for a month-long trip.
While there, he packaged drugs and sent parcels across the Atlantic to various addresses. Police tracked Johns down after lifting fingerprints.
They then found over 14 kilograms of cocaine – worth up to £315,000 – at his Salford flat. On May 2 this year, staff at the Royal Mail office in Manchester called police after five suspicious parcels arrived.
They were collected and taken to Bury police station, where they were analysed. All were from the United States.
Jailing Johns, of Lords Street in Salford, for eight years, Judge Hilary Manley said: “These offences are so serious that only a substantial period of custody can be justified. Clearly you were entrusted with it.”
Johns previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine; and the fraudulent evasion of the importation of a class B drug namely cannabis.
Read the full story here: Huge discovery at man’s house after Royal Mail tip off cops when five suspicious packages arrive in Manchester
Mohammed Sharif
Mohammed Sharif(Image: GMP)
A man who flew a drone over prisons including Strangeways has been locked up after a haul of contraband he tried to smuggle inside was discovered.
Mohammed Sharif was spotted in the woods near HMP Manchester by undercover officers on patrol at around 10.45pm on September 21.
The 22-year-old was seen using his phone underneath a tree close to the prison walls. Officers saw a large bag next to Sharif.
A large box and bag were later discovered, as well as a remote-controlled drone and items wrapped in socks, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Police later arrested him at his home in Birmingham home. Sharif tried to throw items out of a window. A charger for a drone was among the goods seized.
A Telegram message on his phone was discovered, reading: “The eagles have landed, that new route is magical, thank you.”
Jailing Sharif, of Gowan Road, Birmingham, for six years, the Recorder of Manchester, Judge Nicholas Dean KC said: “It seems to me to be clear you did play a leading and organising role, a main role, in this widespread conspiracy. This sort of offending is widespread and highly problematic.”
Sharif pleaded guilty to eight counts of conspiring to bring prohibited items into prison; and one count of possessing cannabis.
Read the full story here: ‘The eagles have landed’: Spotted in the woods near Strangeways, he was doing what he shouldn’t
Kevin Wyatt
Kevin Wyatt(Image: GMP)
A convicted sex offender posed as a plumber before knocking on the door of a disabled woman and attacking her.
Kevin Wyatt, 41, was jailed for 10 years in 2010 after raping a woman having put a sock in her mouth and pillow over her head.
He was released half way through his sentence. In 2021, he fled from his ‘approved premises’. In June last year, Wyatt pretended to be a plumber and visited a woman’s east Manchester home.
Manchester Crown Court heard she was vulnerable, had a number of health conditions and used a wheelchair.
After pretending to carry out work, Wyatt returned. He asked to be let back inside to get some more information. Wyatt forced the woman out of her wheelchair before raping her.
He stayed at the house, stopping his victim from leaving, before raping her again. Wyatt then took her to a cash machine at knifepoint and ordered her to withdraw £120.
“For months afterward she was still bleeding,” sentencing judge Alan Conrad KC said. “She is often tearful. You caused injury to her limbs and body when you manhandled her. She faces surgery. She has been severely psychologically affected and fears staying at home and going out.”
Wyatt, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two offences of rape; robbery; false imprisonment; and threatening a person with a knife. Sentencing him as a dangerous offender, the judge imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of 12-and-a-half years. He was ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.
Read the full story here: Convicted sex offender poses as plumber before raping disabled woman and marching her to cashpoint at knifepoint