Criminals jailed in Cambs over the past week including kidnappers and a paedophile
It has been another busy week for the courts of Cambridgeshire[1]. Judges and magistrates across the county have heard cases involving all kinds of crimes.
A number of these hearings have seen defendants sent to prison. This includes two kidnappers who held two men at knifepoint and forced them to hand over £77,000 as well as several drug dealers who were selling crack cocaine and heroin alongside other Class A drugs.
CambridgeshireLive[2] has put together a list of all the cases we’ve reported on this week (Friday, June 10 to Sunday, June 16) that have seen defendants locked up.
Paedophile raped young girl
A paedophile who raped a young girl has been jailed for 14 years. Kevin Mellors, 66, was found guilty of sexually abusing a girl under 13 between and 2020.
His crimes came to light when the victim confided in two close friends in October 2020. Mellors, of Glenalmond Avenue, Cambridge, was arrested.
While being interviewed by the police, Mellors denied that he was sexually attracted to children. However, after a nine-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court in April, he was found guilty of raping a child under the age of 13, and two counts of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration.
Mellors was sentenced on June 15 and was handed a 14-year prison sentence with an additional year on licence. He must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before being considered for release. He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Man punched and strangled girlfriend while she slept
A man who strangled his girlfriend on two different occasions and punched her in the head has been jailed for more than two years. Dion Aldred, of Birchtree Avenue, Peterborough[5], was arrested after his girlfriend called police on April 23, last year.
The woman confided that she had woken up to Aldred, 27, punching her in the head, and said she saw he had her phone in his hand. Aldred had been looking through her social media and become angry after seeing she hadn’t blocked people he had told her to. He climbed on top of her and strangled her before punching her again.
He was sentenced at Huntingdon[6] Law Courts on Wednesday (June 14, 2023) where he was handed two years and five months in prison.
Driver found with more than £4k worth of drugs
A driver who was stopped by Cambridgeshire Police and found to have more than 300 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin in his vehicle has been jailed. Tommy Mukendi, 30, was pulled over by officers on the A1 southbound, near Wansford, in January after officers suspected the vehicle of being involved in the supply of drugs.
Mukendi was arrested and taken to Thorpe Wood Police Station where he was searched and found to have cannabis in his sock. A further search of his car revealed more than 300 wraps of what turned out to be crack cocaine and heroin with a street value of more than £4,000.
He was sentenced to three years in prison at Huntingdon Law Courts on June 14.
‘Prolific shoplifter’ caught wearing three stolen jackets
A ‘prolific’ Cambridge shoplifter was caught out after leaving a shop wearing three stolen jackets. It came after Scott Reynolds embarked on a crime spree targeting six different businesses in Cambridge – and threatening staff when challenged.
In April he entered a Co-op, in Milton Road, and filled a basket with items before leaving without paying. Then, on May 2, he entered Tesco[9], in Cheddars Lane and attempted to steal more than £200 worth of alcohol. Reynolds, 36, of no fixed abode, was arrested after walking out of the shop in Bridge Street without paying on May 3.
He pleaded guilty to 15 counts including theft from a shop, attempted theft from a shop, breach of a criminal behaviour order, abusive behaviour and common assault. He was sentenced to one year in prison at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court[10] on Thursday, June 8.
Dad crashed into and attacked after he refused to pay for man’s tobacco at petrol station
A man who deliberately caused a crash so he could assault another driver has been jailed. Brian Chapman rammed the victim from behind with his car, a Golf, before overtaking and braking sharply.
The victim’s car slammed into the back of the Golf. Chapman, 42, dragged the victim from his car, pushed him to the ground, and assaulted him. The victim and his son managed to prevent Chapman from driving off. However, he fled the scene on foot.
Chapman, of Puddingpoke Lane, Lutton, Lincolnshire, was jailed for one year and six months at Peterborough Crown Court[12] on Thursday, June 8. He had been found guilty of actual bodily harm and dangerous driving.
Duo kidnapped two construction workers
Two men who were kidnapped for £77,000 went through a “horrendous ordeal”, police have said. Norman Hitchings and Christopher Griffiths have been jailed for kidnapping and robbery[14].
The duo lured their victims to a remote location and forced them to hand over £77,000. In mid-June 2021, the victims, who work for a London-based construction company, were contacted by someone claiming to be “Lee Kennedy”.
After they were lured to Leverington, near Wisbech, for work, The victims were forced onto the ground by four men wearing bandanas and had their hands cable-tied behind their backs before having their wallets and mobile phones taken from them. They were forced to hand over £77,000.
The pair were found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of kidnap following a nine-day trial at Peterborough Crown Court in April, while Griffiths was also found guilty of fraud.
On Tuesday, June 13 they both appeared at Peterborough Crown Court where Hitchings, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Griffiths, of Brudenell, Orton Goldhay, was also jailed for 10 years.
Couple used hire cars to sell drugs
A couple used hire cars to sell drugs and move their profits across Cambridgeshire[16]. Michael Ndoro and Mercede Silsbury continued their crimes even after they were initially arrested by police.
Officers raided the home of Michael Ndoro in Orbell Avenue, Little Wratting, Haverhill, in the early hours of September 14 and found a mobile phone linking them to class A drug dealing. They also seized more than £12k in cash and £9k in Class A drugs. Detective work revealed Ndoro and Mercede Silsbury had been using hire cars to drive around, sell the drugs and move associated profits. Both have now been jailed after admitting drug charges.
Ndoro, 29, was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court[17] on Monday, June 12 to four years and four months in prison. Silsbury, 26, of North Star Court, King’s Lynn, was sentenced to three years and two months in prison.
Father and son doused victim in petrol and threatened to burn him
A Cambridgeshire father and son doused a man with petrol and threatened to burn him alive after a row on a train. Scott Brady, aged 18, got into an argument with the victim on the train from Peterborough to March.
The row continued after they got off at March[19] Railway Station. Scott Brady then explained what was happening to his father, James Brady, who was waiting in a white van in the car park. The 40-year-old then drove the van along Station Road before catching up with the victim at the junction with Queen’s Street. His son jumped out and started pushing the victim.
James then got out of the van with a jerry can of petrol. He poured it on the victim as the pair continued their attack, telling the man they were going to ‘burn him alive’.
James Brady, of County Road, March, was jailed for two years and three months at Huntingdon Law Courts after pleading guilty to administering a noxious substance with intent. Scott Brady, of Upwell Road, March, pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
Two men sold crack cocaine and heroine in Peterborough
A pair of drug dealers who ran drugs “lines” selling cocaine and heroin in Peterborough have been jailed. George Bellamy, 23, who was responsible for the “Lucy and Reeko” drugs line, and Umberto Femminile, 20, who ran the “Fran” line, were both jailed at Huntingdon Law Courts on Thursday (June 8).
Bellamy was arrested at his home in Broadway, Yaxley, on 15 September last year after officers carried out a warrant to search the house. They found heroin worth £860, as well as cocaine worth £500, £2,290 in cash, a set of scales, clingfilm and five mobile phones. A further £3,170 in cash was uncovered in a safe.
Bellamy, of Broadway, Yaxley, was jailed for four years and six months, having pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and one count of acquiring/using/possessing criminal property.
Femminile, of Palace Gardens, Peterborough, was jailed for two years and three months, having pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and one count of acquiring/using/possessing criminal property.
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References
- ^ Cambridgeshire (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ CambridgeshireLive (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ First look at new BBC drama about Cambridge graduate Ben Field who murdered author (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Peterborough (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Huntingdon (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Tesco (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Cambridge Magistrates’ Court (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Peterborough Crown Court (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ robbery (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Cambridgeshire (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Peterborough Crown Court (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ March (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ Man arrested in Cambridge after people call police about person on road with meat cleaver (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ . Sign up here to get the latest crime news straight to your inbox (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
- ^ join our breaking news and incidents group (www.facebook.com)