A man involved in the knifepoint robbery of a 12-year-old child and three thugs who brutally tortured two men were just some of the people jailed in our region so far this month.
Other criminals put behind bars include a man convicted of raping the same vulnerable woman three times and a convicted rapist who dragged a lone woman into some bushes while she waited for the bus.
A drug addict who was forced to become a Manchester gang's 'servant' after they threatened his daughter and a man whose dog left a woman's lip hanging off when it attacked her were also locked up.
Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases each week.
Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester since the start of the month
Thug who launched despicable attack on taxi driver
A criminal who looks after his elderly mother asked a judge 'are you going to look after my mum' as he was jailed for attacking a taxi driver.
David Meehan, 39, screamed from the dock as he was locked up for his role in the attack on June 14, 2019.
Bolton Crown Court heard that in the early hours of the morning, following a wake, Meehan and his friend Anthony Greenall, 39, rang Bluestar Taxis to pick them up from an address in Deanery Court, Wigan.
The victim had been warned about the men by a colleague, who had picked them up earlier in the night after they had been kicked out of a bar.
Upon arriving at Deanery Court at around 4.30am, the driver could smell alcohol on both men and they were 'immediately rude', prosecution barrister Adam Watkins said.
Meehan, of Springfield Road, Wigan, said 'take us home, you black taxi driver' and the victim asked for £3.50 up front, wary that the men would leave without paying.
The driver told the men to behave or he would not take them anywhere, before Meehan started throwing punches to his face and body, Mr Watkins told the court.
The victim managed to get out of the car but the men gave chase with Greenall ripping a windscreen wiper off a nearby car and hitting the victim with it.
Meehan was jailed for 20 months, while Greenall was handed a 19-month sentence suspended for two years.
Ruthless, depraved gangsters who shot rival in the street
Three men have been jailed following a shooting of a rival drug dealer in Bolton.
In November last year, Jon Robinson was waiting to meet Ismail Abdullahi, 22, Sabir Abdulkadir, 21, and Abdul Malik Said, 21, on a road in Halliwell.
He was armed with a hammer and a knife, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
However, as the three men turned up in a blue BMW, bought three days earlier, a violent fracas erupted.
Abdullkadir left the car with a sawed-off double-barrelled shotgun, which was less than 60 centimetres in length and hidden in a plastic bag, and aimed it at Robinson.
The flash of the gun was caught on CCTV.
After the near-miss, Robinson started smashing up the BMW using the hammer, before one of the three men shouted: “Blast him, f****ing blast him”.
The shotgun was fired again and Robinson was left with multiple metal pellets stuck in his back and arm.
The three men have now been jailed for a total of 26 years.
Robinson was jailed for two years for his part in the violence.
Dad who was forced to become Manchester gang's 'servant' to protect his daughter
A drug addict was forced to become a Manchester gang's 'servant' after they threatened his daughter, a court heard.
Jason Paul owed a 'severe debt' to the 'dangerous, violent and intimidating' gang and was forced to sell crack cocaine in Hull to pay it off.
The 51-year-old and his daughter were threatened with 'severe violence' if he didn't peddle the drugs.
Police found £2,000 in cash at a house where he was based, but all the profits from the drug selling went to the Manchester gang, a court heard.
Paul, of Peel Street in Hull, admitted possessing 25 wraps of crack cocaine with intent to supply and possessing cash as criminal property on May 27 last year.
He was jailed for two years and nine months.
Man whose dog left woman's lip hanging off when it attacked her
A man has been jailed after his dog attacked a young woman on Christmas day, leaving her lip 'hanging off'.
Daniel Herbert, 30, kept his dog in the bathroom during a family gathering.
The woman went upstairs and opened the door, before feeling a 'sudden impact' and being knocked backwards.
She later realised she had been bitten by the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The woman was left with serious injuries to her lip and eye.
After the police attended his house in Cheadle, Stockport, Herbert claimed he didn’t know where the animal was, but later said he had been destroyed.
He pleaded guilty to being an owner in charge of a dangerous dog; and obstructing a police constable.
Herbert, of Councillor Lane, was jailed for 24 weeks and banned from owning a dog for 10 years.
Stalker who threatened to 'rape woman in the street'
A stalker threatened to rape a woman in the street, said he'd 'destroy her reputation' and bombarded her with calls after she rejected his romantic advances.
Ahmad Qhobadpour, 35, then started stalking her friend to try and get to the woman.
Qhobadpour, from Rusholme, had never been in a relationship with the either of the two victims, but had met them at the shisha bar where he worked.
After the first victim, split from her boyfriend, an increasingly terrifying campaign of harassment continued for months.
She feared what he might do, and even left her family home.
Qhobadpour turned up at one her relative's houses, let down the tyres to her car and started banging on her vehicle when she tried to get away.
The woman's friend, started to lose her hair, which she attributed to the stress of Qhobadpour's stalking.
He was jailed for two years.
Bullying thug who spat at ex-girlfriend then ‘rubbed it into her face’
A bullying and abusive thug attacked his girlfriend twice in the space of a month - dragging her by the hair, hitting her and spitting in her face.
Leon Hollinrake, 25, had formed a relationship with the woman just two months before after they met at work.
However, things quickly turned sour as he became angry for ‘no apparent reason’ one morning whilst they were at his parents house, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
He attacked her, dragging her by the hair to the stairs before she lost her footing and fell.
Despite forgiving him, Hollinrake, of Rochdale, attacked her again weeks later, spitting in her face and ‘rubbing it in’ with his hand.
The woman has since left the country.
Hollinrake pleaded guilty to offences of assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for 19 months.
Rapist who says he "hates" his child victim
A Manchester man who raped a teenager 12 times has "not a shred of remorse" for what he had done, a judge said.
Rapist Peter Edwards said he 'hates' his child victim for 'taking everything away from him'.
The 40-year-old, of Kenworthy Lane, Wythenshawe, made "deeply troubling" comments in a report where he said "she'll get what she deserves" and "what goes around comes around".
His face cannot be shown to readers because Cheshire Police refused to release his mugshot , despite official guidelines stating that it should be provided to the media.
Edwards was found guilty of raping the teenager over two years in Warrnington by a jury on July 12 this year.
He told his victim that she was "helping him".
The court heard how Edwards would continue to rape the child even after she asked him to stop the behaviour.
Edwards, who has no previous convictions, was jailed for 18 years and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Man involved in knifepoint robbery of 12-year-old child
A man has been jailed for his part in a knifepoint robbery of a 12-year-old child.
Zabed Miah, 19, and two others approached the boy as he was sat talking to his friends in a park in Stalybridge.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard that the boy’s friends were told to ‘f*** off’ before they grabbed him by the neck and demanded he hand over his mobile phone.
As he tried to run away, one of the group produced a knife and demanded the phone again, which he duly handed over.
The trio then fled, but were chased by onlookers who took pictures of them and the police were called.
Officers later found Miah in a house nearby - he had changed his clothes, but following a search, the discarded clothes and knife were recovered.
He pleaded guilty to offences of robbery and possession of a knife.
Miah, of no fixed abode, was jailed for two years and six months.
Thugs who brutally tortured two men
Three thugs have been jailed for their roles in the brutal torture of two men after drugs grown at a cannabis farm in Greater Manchester vanished.
Shawn O'Malley, 33, David Scurfield, 33, and Billy McColl, 20, each played a role in the torture of the victims - who were bound, beaten and told they would be shot.
After being attacked with a pick axe, a claw hammer and held at gunpoint, the men believed they were going to die.
During their ordeal, they were threatened with acid and a power drill - and told their loved ones would be shot, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The ordeal suffered by the victims was prompted by the discovery that cannabis they had helped to cultivate at a farm in Ashton-in-Makerfield, in Wigan - and which had been bagged and left at a secluded site in St Helens - had been stolen.
Scurfield, of Sherwood Crescent in Warrington, was sentenced to nine years, of which he will serve at least two-thirds.
McColl, of Henshall Avenue in Warrington, was handed 10 years detention, of which he will serve at least two thirds.
O'Malley was classed as a 'dangerous' offender and was jailed for 18 years, with an extended five years on licence.
This means he must serve at least two thirds of his sentence - 12 years -behind bars, before he can apply to the Parole Board.
Drug dealing school friends caught asleep in car by police
Two school friends were caught sleeping in their car when the police came knocking - before being caught dealing cocaine.
Jonathan Hopkinson and William Thompson, both 28, claimed to officers that they had driven back from Scotland the night before and couldn’t find a place to stay so decided to sleep in a hired grey Mercedes.
Thompson, of Heywood, also stated he was the owner of a Vauxhall Vectra parked nearby, Manchester Crown Court heard.
However, after officers continued their patrols around Eccles, they saw Hopkinson, of Middleton, nearby speaking to a woman - as well as the Vectra parked on a different street.
Following a search of both cars and the two men, officers found 13.6 grams of cocaine, digital scales, multiple phones and drugs debtors lists as well as a meat cleaver hidden in a carrier bag.
Both Hopkinson and Thompson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs and were both jailed.
Hopkinson, of Hollin Lane, was jailed for 28 months; and Thompson, of Gregge Street, was jailed for 32 months.
Obsessed and controlling boyfriend who held a knife to young mum's throat
A terrified young mum jumped eight feet from the first floor of her Hattersley home to escape her obsessed and controlling boyfriend, who had held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her.
The story of 28-year-old Amy Bradbury's ordeal was told as serial domestic abuser Jayden Knight, also 28, was sentenced to three years and nine months for his crimes.
Minshull Street Manchester Crown Court sitting at Stockport magistrates' court heard how Middleton man Knight had subjected at least four other girlfriends to the same abuse.
Knight had already grabbed her by the throat making her gasp for air before throwing her onto the stairs, banging her head, after flying into a drink and cocaine-fuelled jealous rage.
In a brave victim statement read out in court mother-of-two Amy said: "He has not broken me, he has made me stronger. I will not allow him to make any other women feel the way he made me feel. I've lived through the worst and I've had so many bad experiences, but I can put them all behind me now. "
Recorder Jones imposed a seven-year restraining order on Knight preventing him from going any where near Amy as well as sentencing him to a total of 45 months behind bars.
Drug dealing brothers who used frightened Romanian family's home to stash cocaine
A drug dealer who used a frightened Romanian family's home to hide cocaine they would later sell on the streets has been jailed along with his brother who later joined the 'enterprise'.
Arfan and Shamas Iqbal, aged 31 and 27 respectively, who lived at the same address at Park Road, Rochdale, were found in possession of nearly £13,000 worth of drugs when police were tipped off about their operation.
They were sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, sitting at Stockport magistrates' court.
Arfan was locked up for five years and Shamas was given three years and four months.
Arfan Iqbal had pleaded guilty to being concerned with the supply of cocaine at street level over a period of two-and-a-half years and Shamas Iqbal admitted the same charge over a period of 13 months as well as possessing criminal cash.
Recorder Douglas Jones QC was told how the Romanian family included an 11-year-old girl and a boy of 15. One bag of cocaine was found in the wardrobe of the boy.
Drug addict who asked judge to send him to prison
A heroin addict who drove a stolen car through the narrow streets of Middleton at high speed to try to evade police has been jailed at his own request so he can go into rehab.
Homeless Steven Riley, 44, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to driving the car which had been stolen two years previously and which bore false number plates with his own fingerprints on them.
Recorder Douglas Jones QC, at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court sitting at Stockport magistrates' Court, was shown clips of police chasing Tiley in the Hyundai car on January 15 through narrow streets where the were speed humps and the limit was 30mph.
In places, Riley was doing 55mph in a 'plainly residential area'.
Eventually, he drove the car over a grass verge and Riley bailed out before being found crouching behind another vehicle on High Street in Middleton.
David Farley prosecuting said Riley had 27 convictions and had committed 93 similar offences.
Riley was charged with aggravated vehicle taking, handling stolen goods (namely a car) and failing to surrender to bail.
Recorder Jones sentenced him to six months and four weeks prison.
Man and woman jailed after 'defenceless' baby suffered serious brain injury and fractured ribs
A man and a woman have been jailed after a 'defenceless' baby suffered a serious brain injury and fractured ribs during at least two 'shaking' incidents.
Ryan Briody, 35, and Rebecca Stott, 29, were found guilty of two counts of causing or allowing the serious physical harm of a child following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court.
Both defendants, originally from Oldham but now of Ward Avenue, Nottingham, continue to deny they were responsible for the injuries but are unable to explain how they happened, the court heard.
The victim, a boy less than a year old, was taken to the A&E department at Royal Oldham Hospital in August 2018.
A police investigation was launched and examinations revealed the boy had suffered injuries including fractured ribs, some of which were at least 10 days old, the court heard.
Briody and Stott were arrested and charged and both denied causing or allowing the injuries, the court heard.
However after hearing evidence over a two-day trial, a jury agreed with prosecutors that only the two defendants could have caused or allowed the injuries to have occurred.
Neither Briody or Stott had any previous convictions and both pleaded with the court to be allowed to walk free.
The boy recovered but while experts cannot be sure of the long-term prognosis, the court heard he has shown signs of slow development and is at risk of epilepsy.
Judge Maurice Green sentenced both Briody and Stott to 27 months in prison.
Teenager who killed takeaway owner with his own car
A takeaway owner was run over and killed by his own car as tried to stop a teenage boy from stealing it.
A 15-year-old boy has been jailed for four years and nine months, after admitting the shocking killing of 53-year-old Mohammed Islam in Romiley, Stockport.
Mr Islam, an 'influential and inspiring father and husband' who owned the Marple Spice restaurant, had decided to make the delivery before he finished work, as it was on his way home.
The boy, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was part of a gang of thieves who had been out looking for a car to steal.
They came across Mr Islam who was driving his 'cherished' Mercedes C-Class, which his children had bought him for his 25th wedding anniversary.
As he went to the door of a house on Lyme Grove in Romiley to deliver the takeaway, the boy got in his Mercedes.
Mr Islam ran back to the car and held onto it, in a desperate attempt to stop him.
A resident said they saw the boy speed off 'at the sort of speed I have seen on Top Gear when they completely floor it'.
Mr Islam held on for about 30 metres, but he was then thrown into the road. He hit his head on the ground and was then run over by his own car.
The M.E.N. applied for reporting restrictions to be lifted so the teenage killer could be identified, but a judge said his identity being revealed could have 'adverse consequences as far as his future is concerned'.
Covid-masked burglar who robbed widow using a hammer
Two covid-masked burglars robbed an elderly widow using a hammer.
Gavin Banks, 44, and Thomas Kilburn, 23, broke into the woman’s home whilst she was asleep, smashing the glass in her back door.
As the woman fled to the ensuite in her bedroom they came into her bedroom, armed with a hammer, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Banks, a neighbour of the woman, then demanded: “where’s the money” and she proceeded to hand over £800 which she had been saving up for work doing on the house.
They both then left the house - leaving a trail of footprints in the snow from the back garden to the house next door.
The woman, whose husband had died just two years earlier, was left frozen with fear.
Both Banks, of Chadderton, Oldham, and Kilburn, pleaded guilty to an offence of aggravated burglary.
Banks was jailed for seven years and six months, and Kilburn will be sentenced at a later date.
Convicted rapist who dragged woman into bushes while she was waiting for bus
A convicted rapist who dragged a lone woman into some bushes whilst she waited for the bus has been jailed for life.
Omar Alam, 50, was spotted by the victim as she waited at the bus stop on Palatine Road after she had finished work.
The woman noticed him staring at her as he walked towards her which made her feel ‘nervous and uneasy’, Manchester Crown Court previously heard.
As she looked away she felt an arm come around her shoulder and neck before she was dragged with force into some nearby bushes.
Alam, of Oldham, told her: “It’s OK, you’re coming with me”.
The force of his grip was such that she was breathless and struggled to fight back.
The terrifying incident only came to an end when a passing car beeped their horn and shouted: “Get off her”.
The woman, who previously worked for the NHS, has since suffered panic attacks and has had to leave her job due to the stress from the attack.
Alam was convicted following a trial of the offences of kidnap and kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence.
He also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and failing to notify of a change in circumstances whilst he was still subject to the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Alam, of Abbey Hills Road, was jailed for life to serve a minimum term of six years and 25 days in custody before he is considered for parole.
Jealous thug who battered ex-girlfriend after accusing her of cheating on him
A jealous thug battered his sleeping ex-girlfriend following a party after going through her phone and accusing her of cheating on him.
Thomas Hughes, 31, and his former partner were at the same party when she decided to go to bed as she was tired.
Shortly after, she woke to find him towering over her before he claimed she had been messaging another man, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Hughes, of Blackley, then grabbed her by the neck and began to repeatedly punch her to the face and body.
During the attack she pleaded with him to stop and he eventually allowed her to leave the house.
However, he tracked her down and pulled up alongside her demanding her to get in the car with him.
He then poured a bottle of water over her head and even said he would put her in a lock up.
The woman, who was 20 at the time, was left with a broken nose, fractured eye socket and had bruises over her face and body.
Hughes pleaded guilty to an offence of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and was jailed for 20 months.
Man who raped sobbing, vulnerable woman three times
A man convicted of raping the same vulnerable woman three times has been jailed for 10 years.
Gary Corcoran, 25, of Upper Brook Street, Rusholme, had been found guilty of three counts of rape, two of sexual assault, and another of causing a person to engage in sexual activity.
Joe Allman, prosecuting, told Judge Suzanne Goddard at the Manchester Crown Court sentencing hearing that Corcoran's victim 'suffered multiple health conditions' and that he had taken steps to prevent his victim seeking assistance.
Corcoran had arranged to meet her, said Mr Allman, even though the conditions of his bail prevented him from doing so in 2019.
In one attack he told the sobbing woman to 'be quiet and stay still'.
When she bit his hand, Corcoran, a father and the brother of a police officer, called her a 'f***ing bitch'.
Sentencing him to 10 years in jail, and placing him on the sex offenders' register, the judge said: "I consider you to be a dangerous offender towards women."
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