All the people who walked free from Liverpool's courts in 2021
| Published date | 24 December 2021 |
| Publication title | Liverpool Echo: Web Edition Articles (England) |
Every case heard at the city's crown, magistrates and youth courts has its own unique details which affect its outcome.
READ MORE: Man runs for his life as gunman shoots him in the leg
As a result, there can be huge variations in the sentences people convicted of crimes receive, whether due to their own circumstances or legal guidelines for the crimes they've committed.
The people here went through the courts for vastly different reasons, but the one thing they all have in common is that they walked free in 2021.
Craig Stringer
A coked up son battered his 84-year-old mum after going into the "frail" woman's bedroom.
Craig Stringer was high on cocaine when he went home in the early hours and attacked his elderly mother while she was sleeping in her bed.
His victim lost a tooth and suffered wounds to her back and to her shin as well as bruises to her arms.
Stringer, 51, who had taken three grams of cocaine in the lead up to the attack, admitted grievous bodily harm of the elderly woman.
Stringer was handed a two year sentence suspended for two years and must complete 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirements and 200 hours of unpaid work.
A 12 month restraining order preventing him from attending his mother's address was also imposed.
Jack Williams
A drunken dad attacked his own disabled father after the two had struggled with a knife.
Jack Williams beat his 63-year-old dad with a walking stick after taking the knife into his room on December 9 last year.
He had been a carer for Robert Topham, who is bed bound and who has suffered four strokes and one heart attack.
Liverpool Magistrates' Court heard how the 21-year-old's dad had "never been so scared" and wanted to move home so his son couldn't find him.
He was spared jail after a chair magistrate said Williams was "particularly vulnerable by the nature of his physical and mental health".
Williams was handed an 18 week sentence suspended for 12 months and must complete 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.
He was also ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work and must pay £100 in compensation to the police officer, costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £128.
Magistrates also imposed a two year restraining order preventing Williams from contacting Mr Topham.
Gayle Smylie
A mum-of-three held a shard from a broken mug to a love rivals' throat after invading her home.
Gayle Smylie repeatedly hit Kelly Featherstone after her and Anthony Moss, who is said to have previously 'two-timed' the pair, stormed her home on October 20, 2018.
The 29-year-old has two children and Ms Featherstone has one child to Anthony Moss, a court heard.
Smyle and Moss drove up to the woman's home in a car with blacked out windows after she had allegedly made controversial remarks about Smylie's family online.
The 42-year-old was dragged into her living room, struck in the leg by Moss with a bat, and repeatedly hit by Smylie.
Smylie, now of Huyton, admitted affray at the start of a trial on the basis no weapon was used.
Smylie, formerly of the Hough Green, Widnes, has six previous convictions for seven offences, including assault causing actual bodily harm in 2009.
Judge Aubrey handed her 12 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, with a 25-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
Smylie and Moss both received five-year restraining orders.
Moss was jailed for 21 months for his part in the incident.
Frederick Clague
An OAP driver who killed a cyclist after driving over him at a roundabout was spared jail.
Frederick Clague was driving a Vauxhall Astra when he failed to see Simon Jones, already on the roundabout, on his bicycle.
Clague collided with Mr Jones on Market Street at the junction of Station Road in Hoylake, Wirral, and struggled to stop the car.
Witnesses watched in horror on November 27, 2019, as the 88-year-old failed to stop the car, driving over the trapped cyclist.
Locals pulled the car off Mr Jones, but he sadly died four days later from his injuries.
Clague, of Bertram Drive, Meols, Wirral, has no previous convictions.
He admitted one charge of causing death by careless driving.
Clague was handed a 16 week curfew which will run from 8pm to 8am and was disqualified from driving for three years after which he must take an extended retest.
Leanne Pearson
A drug driving mum who had taken cocaine with a friend while her daughter was cared for by her mum was spared jail because of her children.
Leanne Pearson led police officers on a three-minute chase through Southport after she "panicked" when they tried to stop her.
Officers tried to pull over the mum on May 15 last year, but she drove away, speeding through a residential area.
The 28-year-old cried in the dock when she was grilled by a top Liverpool judge who asked her "what if a nine-year-old girl had stepped out into the road".
Pearson, of Kensington Road, Southport, admitted driving a motor vehicle dangerously and driving with cannabis and cocaine in her system above the specified limit.
She has two previous convictions for dissimilar offences.
Pearson was handed a 10 month sentence suspended for 18 months and was disqualified from driving for two years.
She must also complete 30 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirements and 100 hours of unpaid work.
Antonia Newell
A woman who smuggled drugs into a rave for a mystery man walked free from court this month.
A judge accepted that Antonia Newell hid the drugs in her skirt out of a "misplaced sense of loyalty" for the unknown male.
The 24-year-old was stopped on December 21, 2019, before going into a Circus Christmas Special event featuring DJ Solomun at Bramley Moore Dock.
A sniffer dog detected around £590 worth of ecstasy and cocaine which she had concealed in her skirt.
Newell, of Cinema Drive, Wavertree, was previously fined £100 for possessing cocaine in April 2015.
She admitted possessing MDMA and cocaine with intent to supply, and possessing cannabis on this occasion.
Newell was handed a sentence of one year and ten months suspended for 18 months and must complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
She was also ordered to complete up to 30 days Rehabilitation Activity Requirements and comply with a four month curfew between the hours of 8pm and 7am.
Jack Brown
A pervert sexually assaulted a young man as he lay unconscious after he had passed out due to drink.
Jack Brown, aka Jac Brown, left the man "feeling lost and emotionless", telling the court: "I feel I have no purpose in life."
The 33-year-old "[targeted] him in a vulnerable state" in Warrington in 2018.
A judge said he had a "unusual sexual predilection" because he likes "sexual activity with unconscious men".
Brown, of Warrington Road, Mickle Trafford, Chester, was originally charged with rape and assault by penetration, but admitted sexual assault on the third day of his trial after listening to his victim give evidence.
He has no previous convictions, a court heard.
Brown was handed nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement. He was also told to undertake the accredited Horizon sex offenders treatment programme and ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years
Ryan Barr
A boyfriend poured bleach on his partner and stubbed out cigarettes on her neck.
Ryan Barr, aka Romeo Barr, spat on the young Liverpool student, kicked and bit her face, taunted her and even hit their dog -forcing her to watch.
The 24-year-old, who admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, also made his partner take out loans, leaving her in more than £5,000 of debt.
The court heard he was "jealous and controlling" and had kicked her face as she bent to pick up a towel, after ice cold water was thrown over her while she took a shower.
Barr, of Clock Face, St Helens, was previously convicted of common assault against the same victim
Barr was handed 15 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, a 20-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work.
The judge ordered him to pay £500 in compensation to the victim and imposed a two-year restraining order.
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Adam Routledge
A dad left his children 'screaming' after hurling a kitten against a wall.
A court heard Adam Routledge had "gone mad" because he had been bitten by fleas.
The 36-year-old builder's children were left cradling the injured pet, believing it was dead.
Police found the six-week-old kitten “clearly suffering” as it “appeared to be in pain”, but alive.
The court heard the cat made a complete recovery after the incident.
Routledge, of Stenhills Crescent, Runcorn, was originally sentenced in his absence for an animal cruelty offence, which took place on August 29, and two driving matters, which took place on October 16.
However, the original sentence was scrapped when Magistrates were provided with a note confirming he was at a hospital appointment.
He was handed 14 weeks in prison in total, suspended for 12 months, with a 20-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
He was also banned from keeping animals for five years and banned from driving for three years.
Victoria Dillon
A woman agreed to turn her home into a cannabis farm after a friend promised her £15,000.
Victoria Dillon said she had been "persuaded" to keep the 237 plants in her home but told a court she expected they would be moved.
She appeared in court after admitting being concerned in the production of cannabis.
The court heard police arrived and discovered it was "pretty obvious what was going on" as the "curtains were closed and there was ondensation on the windows".
Dillon has no relevant previous convictions.
Dillon, of Lathom Close, Huyton, was handed a six month sentence suspended for 12 months and must complete 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.
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