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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Adam Everett

'Nice guy' robber and bullying thug among crooks jailed this week

An armed robber who told staff he was a "nice guy", a dealer caught with drugs up his bum and a man who taunted police during a motorbike chase were among the Merseyside criminals jailed this week.

Also locked up was a pervert caught showing his naked body off to a "14-year-old girl" in a paedophile hunter sting. Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that an abusive former bus driver bit his girlfriend's nose after accusing her of spiking his food.

Here are the faces of nine criminals who were imprisoned in our region in the past week:

READ MORE: Woman feared she was going to die as killer strangled her in bed

Sean Clamp

Sean Clamp (Merseyside Police)

The robber told staff "I'm a nice guy" after holding up a bookmakers and a pharmacy armed with a length of pipe which he attempted to pass off as a gun.

Sean Clamp silently handed staff a note bearing the words "give me money and no-one will get hurt", while another worker was left so terrified that she fell off her chair. The "career criminal" made less than £100 from the two raids, which were both carried out on the same evening.

In one, he entered Park Street Pharmacy in Bootle wearing a helmet and handed an employee a note with the words "give me money and no-one will get hurt" in capital letters. As he left, he told her: "I'm not a bad guy."

Clamp has a staggering 111 previous convictions for 233 offences. He admitted robbery, attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and was jailed for five years.

Mark Woolley

Mark Woolley, 50, of Grangemoor, Runcorn, demanded "respect" from his victim and claimed he was the "best thing" in her life. (Cheshire Police)

The “controlling” domestic violence thug headbutted his partner and broke her nose after demanding “respect” from her and claiming she would “never meet anyone like him”.

Mark Woolley and his partner had been arguing during the weekend of October 29 and she asked him to leave. The 50-year-old told his victim: “You will lose the best thing in your life - you will be on your own forever.”

He pressed his head against hers before moving it away briefly then slammed it back against her nose. She was left "shocked", while there was "blood everywhere".

Woolley admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for a year.

Peter Stevens

Peter Stevens (Merseyside Police)

Peter Stevens drove a motorbike at police officers and said "I smoke yous" as he sped away from them.

The 25-year-old nearly ran over the PCs and pedestrians when he mounted the pavement at speed on a main road. The chase came only days after the convicted drug dealer had been released from prison.

Patrols ordered Stevens to stop, but he continued to drive at them. The biker "broke at the last minute, skidded and fishtailed" - "almost striking" the emergency services workers in the process - then delivered his taunt as he attempted to escape.

The defendant admitted dangerous driving, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and drug driving and was locked up for 14 months. He told a judge this week: "I should have just kept my head down when I got home lad."

Donna Thomas

Donna Thomas, 47, of Morcambe Street, Anfield (Merseyside Police)

A woman who was caught shoplifting the day after she was spared prison has now been jailed.

Donna Thomas was given a suspended sentence for nine counts of theft and possession a bladed article in a public place in May this year. The following day, the 47-year-old was caught stealing joints of meat and two car battery chargers from the Lidl supermarket on Edge Lane.

Thomas admitted theft and was jailed for eight weeks. Sentencing, Recorder Richard Conley said: "Yours is a sad case because for 46 years you were a law-abiding person.

"Something must have happened to knock your life off the rails. I hope when you come out in a month’s time you will be clean and in a position to stay out of trouble."

Colin Chapman

Colin Chapman (Merseyside Police)

The former bus driver accused his girlfriend of spiking his food before biting her on the nose.

Colin Chapman left his partner bloodied and bruised after a "prolonged and persistent" drunken attack at the couple's Wirral home, which also saw him knee his victim in the face.

The 56-year-old accused her of "adulterating" his meal and told her to taste it as he believed there was "something untoward in it". He then grabbed hold of her, pulled her to the floor, kneed her and bit her.

Their relationship has since ended and she has since moved back to her native Wales to "start afresh", having "packed up and moved to a completely new area" in order to be with her abuser. Chapman was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a trial and was jailed for 18 months.

Dean Gorst

Dean Gorst, 31, of Dignum Mead, Liverpool, tested positive for the same drugs he was selling. (Cheshire Police)

The drug dealer peddled crack cocaine and heroin from a user’s house.

Police raided the property on Milton Road in Widnes town centre on June 9 after receiving “intelligence” in relation to the supply of illicit substances. Inside, officers saw Dean Gorst standing behind the sofa and the tenant Leanne Beneke running into the kitchen.

A search uncovered 46 wraps of crack cocaine worth £10 each and 56 packages of heroin of the same value. These were spread among “bake boxes” on the living room table, inside Gorst’s coat and behind the sofa. Officers also seized two graft phones and £337 in cash.

Two samurai swords found at the property did not result in any charges. Gorst admitted two counts of possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and was jailed for three years.

Michael Conley

Michael Conley was found with cocaine after a strip search (Merseyside Police)

The drug dealer was caught with cocaine between the cheeks of his backside and claimed it was for personal use.

Four bags of cocaine were found in Michael Conley's bottom during a strip search by police. He then told the officers.: "It's for personal use, it's for the weekend".

Merseyside Police searched his home on Melling Road, Aintree, where they found 17 more bags of white powder, also identified as cocaine. The overall estimated street value of the cocaine was £2,086, while £772.10 in cash was also seized.

Conley admitted two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. The 46-year-old was jailed for a year.

Andrew Evans

Andrew Evans (Merseyside Police)

The "despicable" fraudster led his 80-year-old victim to cash machines 150 times in order to steal more than £50,000 from him.

Serial scammer Andrew Evans posed as a campervan salesman and claimed that he was taking the regular payments to go towards a vehicle which he never provided. The pensioner was left unable to afford to heat his home as a result.

Evans admitted four counts of fraud during an earlier hearing and was given a further five years behind bars. Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey QC said: "You took it all, all his life savings.

"You fleeced and bled him dry. Just as blood runs through your veins, I regret to say, so does dishonesty and the targeting of the elderly."

Richard Murray

Richard Murray outside Liverpool Crown Court in January 2021 (Liverpool Echo)

The pervert, who showed a "14-year-old girl" his naked body, was jailed after breaching the terms of the sex offenders' register.

Richard Murray was spared jail in January 2021 after being ensnared by paedophile hunters. The 53-year-old thought he had been sending obscene Facebook messages to a child, but he had actually been speaking to a decoy.

He had requested photos of the child and "told her he was naked and in the bath". The paedophile then video called the 'girl', with a four-minute video beginning with him topless before he moved the camera to his naked genitals.

Murray then failed to inform the police when he moved home, in breach of his notification requirement. He was jailed for a year.

READ NEXT: Fraudster led man, 80, to cash machine 150 times and stole more than £50,000

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