Sixteen shock Devon cases where criminals walked free from court

One of the powers regularly used by judges at court in Exeter is the suspended sentence. If an offender is guilty of an offence carrying a term of two years or less the judge can suspend it.

It means the offender does not go to prison immediately but is given the chance to stay out of trouble. Usually he or she will have to do unpaid work, be subject to a curfew, undertake treatment or rehabilitation as part of the conditions.

Suspended sentences always come with a warning from the judge that breaching the terms of the order could result in the defendant being resentenced for the original offence. But figures show relatively few breaches of s suspended sentence end in jail time.

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request by DevonLive to the Ministry of Justice show there were 221 suspended sentences handed down at crown court in Devon in 2022-2023. There have been 76 breaches of those sentences but only 15 defendants sent to jail as a result.

According to Transform Justice, which campaigns for a more compassionate justice system, this does not tell the whole story.

A spokesperson said: “There are two different types of beach – breach where the convicted person reoffends or breach where they do not comply with conditions. Those who do not go to prison for breach are likely to have not complied with conditions – eg missing appointments with a probation officer. Missing appointments needs sanctioning but imprisonment is not the most effective punishment.”

Here DevonLive looks at recent cases where the defendant was given a suspended sentence.

Horses neglected by Edmund and Rosena Edge of Okehampton

A Devon couple have been given 10-year animal bans after an RSPCA investigation found horses living in appalling conditions. Inspectors from the animal welfare charity attended the address of Edmund and Rosena Edge after concerns were raised about the welfare of their animals.

They found a large number of horses in poor condition, including a stallion who was extremely emaciated and covered in dry caked mud and faeces, and a swollen and infected prolapsed penis. He was in such a severe state of suffering that he had to be put to sleep.

The couple, of Exbourne, Okehampton, have been handed 26-week prison sentences, suspended for 12 months, by magistrates in Exeter. They admitted multiple animal welfare offences at an earlier hearing.

Asda in Bideford

A prolific thief was slapped with a supermarket banning order after a shoplifting spree in his home town in Devon. Quinn Britton has become such a pest in Bideford^[3] that a Criminal Behaviour Order now prohibits him from entering Asda and Morrisons.

He’s also banned from the Texaco service station and a number of other buildings. It comes after his latest bout of stealing, which included him leaving Asda with Champagne, whisky and a TV without paying.

Britton appeared at court^[4] after admitting seven offences. Police had been hoping he would be locked up but Britton walked free with a suspended sentence.

Sgt Glyn Clark, of the Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We have applied for and successfully been granted with a CBO for Britton. We want to sent a strong message to people in the Bideford community that we will seek tough resolutions in court for people like Britton and they won’t go unpunished.”

Exeter Law Courts (Google)

An Exeter cafe worker groped and pestered teenage members of staff – then left the country and started a new life in the Netherlands. Ricardo Ribeiro plagued the girls “day in and day out” with unwanted touching when working with them in the city centre, a court heard.

But before he could be brought to justice he left the country, keeping in contact occasionally with police, but only being arrested this year when a Portugal-bound plane he was travelling on stopped in Luton.

He was branded a “predator” by the judge when he came to be sentenced at Exeter Crown Court. Ribeiro was spared jail and told to pay his three victims £500 each in compensation.

Generic image of a computer keyboard (Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

A paedophile from Exeter^[7] was caught after sharing his secret stash of child abuse images with an undercover police officer. Matthew Wood struck up a conversation with somebody he thought was the father of a seven-year-old girl.

He said he would like to have sex with the child and later sent the officer his collection of hundreds of indecent pictures of children he had downloaded from the internet.

Some showed the worst kind of abuse of young children, Exeter Crown Court^[8] was told. Wood, who initially said he had no sexual interest in children, has now been convicted of six offences of making and distributing indecent images.

He was given a suspended sentence. Senior judges have recently highlighted a prison overcrowding crisis that tipped the balance in favour of a suspended sentence with rehabilitation.

File photo of police cars (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)

Police uncovered a crack cooking den at the home of a man arrested in Exeter.^[10] Paul Dunlop was stopped in a car on suspicion of breaching lockdown back in April 2020.

When officers searched his property in Burnthouse Lane they found he was converting cocaine into crack cocaine and selling it on. The front door had been reinforced with a extra security to prevent entry and a stun gun found. Checks with his bank revealed more than £10,000 in his account linked to his cottage industry.

Dunlop, aged 52, appeared at Exeter Crown Court^[11] to be sentenced for four offences. He was given a suspended sentence and a drug rehabilitation order to help conquer his habit.

Pier Point on Torquay seafront (Image: Google M)

A sacked restaurant worker took revenge by smashing the windows of his former employer on a South West seafront. Shaun Campbell got drunk and repeatedly hurled a rock at the popular Pier Point Bar and Restaurant on Torbay Road in Torquay.

When police arrested him he kicked and spat at officers. Campbell caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the business which had fired him about a year before for taking money from the tip jar, Exeter Crown Court heard.

The defendant, 27, was given a suspended sentence for criminal damage and assaulting emergency workers.

File image of police in Paignton (Image: Colleen Smith)

A jealous man recklessly stabbed his partner in the back during an argument at her flat. Aaron Scott self-harmed with the knife before inflicting the wound on the woman when she tried to take it away from him.

He left the property but was arrested soon afterwards by police. He was still angry and headbutted an officer on the nose before being restrained. The defendant appeared at Exeter Crown Court for sentence on Friday [March 17] for wounding, possessing a knife and assaulting an emergency worker.

But he was spared prison for the attacks. The court was told he had already spent three months in custody and the public would be better served by him getting help for his issues.

The 70 year old grandfather was left bruised and battered in the attack (Image: Mark Forrester)

A noisy thug played loud music at a block of flats in Torquay^[15] – then attacked a 70-year-old neighbour who complained. David Freel ranted and kicked his victim in the head during a brutal assault outside his home.

Grandfather John Forrester was left battered and bruised as a result of the sickening assault. After the incident his son, well-known local footballer Mark Forrester, appealed for information^[16] about the assault and criticised what he said was a slow police response.

Freel, 36, appeared at Exeter Crown Court^[17] after pleading guilty to causing actual bodily harm. He walked free with a suspended sentence and was told to pay £250 compensation.

A Devon cannabis couple used their village home for a sophisticated drug growing operation (Image: Pixabay)

A Devon cannabis couple used their village home for a sophisticated drug growing operation. Police broke down the door of the house in Combe Raleigh near Honiton^[19] and found plants growing in a bedroom and outbuilding.

The electricity supply had been bypassed and lighting and ventilation installed. Salih Eray and Lucy Mitchell were arrested for cultivating the crops which had a wholesale value of up to £18,000, Exeter Crown Court^[20] heard.

The judge said the growth of ever stronger strains of cannabis is creating devastating mental health issues in society. But he spared the pair immediate prison.

Eray, aged 40, and Mitchell, aged 35, both admitted being concerned in the production of cannabis. Eray was given an 18-month suspended sentence with unpaid work and Mitchell a community order for the same period.

Stock image (Image: Getty Images)

A jealous boyfriend caused mayhem by brandishing a large kitchen knife and threatening kill his partner’s friends he found at her flat in Exeter^[22]. Omer Cimentay threw bottles of beer and scuffled with terrified guests during a chaotic incident in St David’s Hill.

One man was so scared of what might happen that he jumped out of the window and made his escape across the roof. A woman said she was petrified and could not stop crying after her experience.

A judge at Exeter Crown Court^[23] said the 33-year-old was consumed by sexual jealousy, but he deserved a chance to work with probation on controlling his anger in relationships and was given a suspended sentence.

Exeter Law Courts (Image: DevonLive)

A homeless man sexually assaulted a female paramedic who was trying to help him, a court heard. Simeon Chami also attempted to grope a second emergency worker at the scene in Exeter.

Chami had taken the mind-bending drug ‘spice’ before committing the offences in February 2021. The 44-year-old was convicted by a jury of sexual assault by touching and attempted sexual touching after a trial in Exeter^[25] in January and returned to crown court^[26] on Tuesday to be sentenced.

Judge David Evans said the incident had caused the paramedics distress. Chami, who lives in a tent in North Devon, was spared jail after the court heard he is a good prospect for rehabilitation with no history of committing sexual offences.

Judge Evans said: “Both paramedics were simply trying to do their best in very trying circumstances to see whether you in that moment needed medical assistance. You made it very difficult for them to do their job.

Chami was jailed for eight months but the sentence was suspended for two years. He must do rehabilitation days with probation and sign the sex offenders register.

Tenpin Exeter (Image: Google)

A man was left with multiple fractures to his face after being punched by a thug outside the tenpin bowling alley in Exeter^[28]. George Wilkins landed a vicious blow that sounded to witnesses ‘like a lead balloon popping’, a court^[29] heard.

His victim was unconscious on the floor for 26 minutes and Wilkins was heard to say he thought he had killed him. The 27-year-old defendant, of Mincinglake Road, Exeter, said he threw the punch because he thought he might be attacked himself.

The judge at Exeter Crown Court said that was an ‘obviously false conclusion’. Wilkins admitted assault causing grievous bodily harm and was given a suspended sentence and told to pay compensation to his victim.

Sherwell Valley Road in Torquay (Image: Google Street View)

A dangerous driver previously shown mercy by the court has been jailed for failing to work with probation. Mathew Scott did not attend one appointment because he could not find anyone to look after his dog.

He was sent on a Thinking Skills course with 70 hours of unpaid work after a conviction in 2021. The defendant, now aged 25, returned to court on Monday [January 23] to be sentenced for breaching the order.

He was jailed for six months. Exeter Crown Court^[31] was told Scott had breached the order three times by failing to attend the majority of his appointments.

Torquay (Google)

A drunken thug on a stag night in Torquay^[33] knocked a man unconscious after getting into a drunken confrontation near the harbour. Kieren Luscombe was seen on CCTV staggering around Torwood Street before encountering a group sat on a bench.

The footage showed him stopping to talk before standing over one man who sitting down. The pair went nose-to-nose before Luscombe delivered a blow which knocked his victim backwards over the bench.

A judge at Exeter Crown Court^[34] said the heavy punch could easily have cracked the man’s skull and Luscombe would have faced a more serious charge than causing actual bodily harm. The defendant, of Rose Hill, Redruth in Cornwall, was given a suspended sentence.

A boy sadly died at the scene of the crash near Bournemouth Airport

A Devon nurse riding a motorbike died at the scene of a crash caused by a farmer turning into her path on a rural road near Tiverton^[36]. Samantha Horne had no time to avoid the fatal collision between Nomansland and Witheridge.

John Lawler told police at the scene ‘I just didn’t see anything’ as he attempted to turn right into his driveway at Middlewick Barton. A crash investigation concluded he had a six-second window during which he should have seen the rider approaching from the opposite direction on the B3137.

He said he heard an almighty bang as the bike hit the passenger side of his VW Transporter. The mum-of-three sustained multiple fatal injuries after colliding with considerable force, Exeter Crown Court^[37] heard

Lawler pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving. The judge said there was no real explanation for his actions that day and no sentence could repair the loss experienced by the bike rider’s loved ones. The 69-year-old defendant was given a seven and a half-month suspended sentence and banned from driving for a year.

Firefighters were met with devastating scene on the A38 near Buckfastleigh on December 31, 2021 (Image: Buckfastleigh Fire station)

A motorist who caused a five-vehicle crash by driving the wrong way down the A38 told witnesses he had been following his sat nav. Andrew Beavers, 55, drove at excessive speed after drinking in the early hours of New Year’s Eve and caused what police described as a scene of ‘total devastation and destruction’.

He smashed into three cars coming the other way then took out a van while spinning across the dual carriageway near Buckfastleigh. One driver was left in so much shock by the collision that 24-hours later he ‘wasn’t sure if he was dead or alive’.

Beavers had to be cut free from the wreckage of his Land Rover Freelander. He told another motorist that he had been following the Waze navigation app and that’s why he was on the wrong side of the road.

Beavers admitted dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drink. He was spared prison after the judge accepted he had not deliberately driven against traffic on the wrong side of the road and could pay £2,250 in compensation – £250 for each victim.

References

1. ^ Devon mum’s anguish as son trapped in island paradise prison (www.devonlive.com)
2. ^{^}