Jailed in Liverpool: Pizza gunman, High Parker and McDonald's date paedophile

Published date13 September 2021
Publication titleLiverpool Echo: Web Edition Articles (England)
One judge had to sentence four men involved in a botched gangland shooting linking underworld figures from across the North West.

Courts heard about an NHS cleaner who sold crack cocaine and heroin, and a drug addict who carried out a brazen robbery.

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Another judge had to sentence members of a drug gang who plagued a seaside resort and a paedophile who raped a child then fantasised about it online with other men.

Meanwhile, other disturbing cases included a married dad who tried to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex, a paedophile 'beyond help' who molested a young boy and a pervert who groped a little girl in the street.

Here is an overview of some of the most serious cases to have concluded this past week.

Vincent O'Connor

Vincent O'Connor threatened a woman with an angle grinder when she tried to prevent him from stealing a bike.

He used the power tool to cut through a D lock securing the £1,000 bicycle outside a city centre gym.

Mobile phone footage showed sparks flying as the 34-year-old ignored gym worker Sophie Smith's pleas for him to stop, before he threatened her.

O'Connor, of Longridge Walk, Kirkdale, struck outside a Virgin Active gym in London, at around 6pm, on May 6 this year.

He also fell to be sentenced over a burglary at a Pause coffee shop, in Tower Hamlets in London, on October 4, 2019.

O'Connor, who admitted robbery and burglary, has 93 previous offences.

The drug addict was jailed for three years and nine months.

Steven Davies

Steven Davies groped a little girl playing in the street.

He approached the child when she was standing alone, grabbed hold of her and groped her bottom, in Warrington.

The six-year-old called him a "weirdo" and he ran away, but the girl is now "less joyful" and treats all men as strangers, a court was told.

Davies, of Vulcan Close, Warrington, admitted sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13, shortly before 5pm, on November 5 last year.

Cheshire Police refused to provide his photograph, despite the 44-year-old being jailed for seven months, because he has already been freed.

He was remanded into custody on December 10 last year and his period in custody counts towards the jail sentence.

As a result, after being sentenced, the pervert was immediately released.

What to do if you're a victim of a sex crime

Dawn Bennett and Alan McHugh

NHS cleaner Dawn Bennett who sold heroin and crack cocaine was caught after her uniform and ID badge were found at a drug den.

The 40-year-old, of Whitchurch Way, Halton Lodge, Runcorn, was arrested after the raid at the home of another woman in Runcorn on May 14, 2019.

Police found 40 wraps of crack cocaine, 24 wraps of heroin, plus the uniform with a Kinder egg inside the pocket containing 24 more Class A drug wraps.

Twenty further wraps of heroin were found, bringing the value to £1,040.

Mum-of-four Bennett, of previous good character, admitted two counts of supplying Class A drugs and two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

She was jailed for three years and 11 months.

Co-accused Alan McHugh, 45, of Bedford Road, Walton, whose DNA was found on drug-packing materials, admitted two counts of being concerned in supplying Class A drugs and possessing cannabis.

McHugh, who had a previous conviction for supplying Class A drugs, was jailed for three years and...

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