Sent down in 2024 – Birmingham’s biggest court cases from gangster rappers to right wing obsessives

BirminghamLive is in court every day – reporting on the biggest and most note-worthy criminal acts in the West Midlands. We see the worst of Birmingham and the Black Country – and tell you, so you don’t have to.

With the half-way point of 2024 on the horizon, we’ve covered dozens of cases, and have brought them all together here. Among them are horrific attacks, gang activity, murders and unspeakable cruelty.

The good news is these people are behind bars now – facing up to the consequences of their actions. Below is a month-by-month guide to the worst cases we’ve seen in the West Midlands.

January

Jordan Porter

Jordan Porter (Image: West Mercia Police)

Jordan Porter^[2] strangled a woman and subjected her to ’emotional and physical abuse’ in Worcester. It came to light when the victim bravely reported the 25-year-old to the police, we reported in January^[3].

Porter, of Washwood Heath, admitted admitted controlling and coercive behaviour and two counts of intentional strangulation. He was sentenced to three and a half years.

Steven Parkes

Steven Parkes went on a three-month shoplifting ‘binge’ stealing thousands of pounds-worth of goods. The 31-year-old targeted two convenience shops and a petrol station in Stourbridge.

Parkes, of no fixed address, admitted 23 counts of shoplifting and was sentenced to ten-and-a-half months.

Brandon Price

Brandon Price

Brandon Price stabbed 18-year-old Jack Norton to death in a park in Darlaston in an unprovoked attack. Afterwards he was spotted ‘jumping up and down with excitement’ and shouting ‘you didn’t think we’d do it, we’ve f*****g’ done it’.

The victim had been hanging out with his friends when he bumped into Price, then aged 18, and a 15-year-old boy he was with who started making aggressive threats. When Mr Norton went to leave he was stabbed by Price.

Both Price and the other teenager, who cannot be named due to his age, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life. Price was handed a minimum term of 20 years while the younger teenager was handed 15 years minimum.

Drug dealing gang

A drug dealing gang operated using cars which had been ‘professionally’ fitted with secret compartments to hide illegal substances. They also communicated on the encrypted EncroChat platform.

Police seized £1.7m of cash, £8m worth of cocaine and £40,000-worth of ketamine. The gang were collectively jailed for more than 86 years for drugs offences. Read the full story and the names of the crooks here^[4].

Aaron Day, Liam Bell, Jordell Duquesney and Richard Gray

Top (l-r) Aaron Day, Liam Bell. Bottom (l-r) Jordell Duquesney, Richard Gray (Image: WMP)

A violent gang^[5] carried out a series of armed raids where they marched staff around and threatened them with weapons. They made off with thousands of pounds each time as they targeted Shipley’s Arcade in West Bromwich, Buzz Bingo in Erdington, Cashino in Birmingham city centre, a Co-op travel in Wednesbury and a Cash Converters in Kingstanding.

Four men were convicted of conspiracy to rob. Aaron Day, 36, from Rowley Regis, Liam Bell, 28, of West Bromwich, and Jordell Duquesney, 26, from Halesowen were jailed for 14 years each. Richard Gray, 42, from Birmingham received 12 years and nine months.

Arjun Dosanjh and Jacek Wiatrowski

Two men ‘driving competitively’ caused the death^[6] of 81-year-old Surinder Kaur as she was walking home from the Gurdwara in Rowley Regis. After pulling up next to each other at a set of lights they both began speeding along the Oldbury Road.

Wiatrowski, aged 51, braked aggressively as he spotted Mrs Kaur, who he narrowly missed, but caused Dosanjh, 26, to swerve on to the wrong side of the road and plough into her.

Both admitted causing death by dangerous driving. Wiatrowski, of Wednesbury, and Dosanjh, from Oldbury, were each jailed for six years and banned from the roads for eight years.

Shania Begum

Shania Begum (Image: West Midlands Police/SWNS)

HMP Birmingham prison officer Shania Begum^[7] had sexual activity with an inmate in a store cupboard. She developed an intimate relationship with Joshua Mullings which aroused suspicions and led to her being placed under surveillance.

It included a covert camera which captured them together in September 2022 as their behaviour escalated from heavy petting to full sex. Begum, aged 25, from Telford, admitted misconduct in a public office and was jailed for 16 months.

Paul Fulleylove, Gemma Satchell and Ryan Turner

Paul Fulleylove, Gemma Satchell and Ryan Turner^[8] were involved in supplying crack cocaine and heroin. Police found drugs and mobile phones when they stopped a car and a woman separately in Tamworth along with searches of a property in Birmingham.

All were convicted of supplying illegal substances. Fullylove, aged 37, and Satchell, 39, from Tamworth, were both jailed for 43 months while Turner, aged 24, received 37 months.

Gurveer Bhandal

Gurveer Bhandal (Image: WMP)

Gurveer Bhandal^[9] stabbed student Ashley Day to death at a party to celebrate the victim going to university. Tensions flared at the hired ground floor flat in Digbeth when people were told to leave .

The 19-year-old repeatedly stabbed talented footballer Mr Day four times, including while he was on the ground, while the victim tried to shield the blows in vain with a large nitrous oxide canister. Bhandal, from Wombourne, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 13 years with an extended three years licence.

Emma Grey

Emma Grey^[10] tricked her way into a vulnerable woman’s home in Solihull and stole two rings. The elderly victim, who had Alzheimer’s, fled in fear and ended up going to a McDonald’s^[11] to seek help from staff.

Meanwhile, Grey was locked inside the flat. She made a failed attempt to get the concierge to let her out before she was confronted at the address by a victim of the relative who had been called out of concern.

Grey did manage to escape but was arrested later on. The 36-year-old, from Chelmsley Wood, was sentenced to two years and nine months.

February

Jack Evans

County lines drug dealer Jack Evans^[12] was caught on camera trying to jump from a third-floor window when police raided the property he was in. Officers swooped on an address in the St John’s area of Worcester^[13] and found class A drugs, phones, scales, a knife and £740, we reported in February^[14].

Evans leapt out the window but police grabbed on to him and arrested him. The 24-year-old of Ploughman’s Way, Droitwich, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin, being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine and possession of criminal property. He was jailed for three years and four months.

Christopher Brand

Christopher Brand

Christopher Brand intended to rape the children of a woman he was messaging online. But the 62-year-old from Birmingham^[15] was unaware he was actually speaking to a police officer.

After being arrested he was found guilty of two counts of attempting/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and for obscene publication. He was jailed for 15 years.

Albert Okyere

Albert Okyere^[16] raped a stranger and sexually assaulted her friend following a night out in The Arcadian in Birmingham. The 37-year-old Dutch national fled to his homeland but was eventually extradited to the UK and locked up nearly a decade after the attacks.

He took advantage of two ‘heavily intoxicated’ women by posing as a nice stranger offering them a lift home. But he pulled over into a dark industrial site and attacked them. The predator even locked one of the women inside the car while he raped the other outside.

Okyere, of Ash-Lea Drive, Donnington, Telford, was convicted of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. He was jailed for 12 years with a further two years extended licence period.

Paul Merrell

Paul Merrell walking away from Birmingham Crown Court at a previous hearing

School headteacher Paul Merrell^[17] ran an illegal online streaming business which ripped off the likes of Sky TV and BT. He was estimated to have around 2,000 customers and made £240,000 in profit.

Th 43-year-old operated the racket between January 2017 and January 2021 before he became the headteacher of Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School in Stourbridge^[18], which he was credited with turning around following years of financial difficulty.

Merrell, of Boldmere Road, Sutton Coldfield^[19], admitted two offences under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. He was jailed for 12 months.

Thomas O’Brien-Wood

Thomas O’Brien-Wood^[20] caused the death of his passenger 20-year-old Harry Smart after crashing into another vehicle head-on as he was entering the M42.^[21] He tested positive for alcohol and cocaine when detained by police.

Police had pursued him earlier due to the manner of his driving but were forced to abandon the chase and they lost him. The 21-year-old from The Beck in Dudley^[22] admitted causing death by dangerous driving. He was jailed for seven years and six months and banned from the road for eight years and nine months.

Carl Ellitts

Carl Ellitts raped two women during a crime rampage (Image: West Midlands Police)

Carl Ellitts^[23] murdered a man in Wolverhampton^[24] in a four-day ‘tornado’ of violence in which he raped two women, robbed three victims and assaulted another. He ambushed devoted dad Roy Deeley-Price and carried out four separate attacks on him in the space of 11 minutes.

In the middle of them he made a failed attempt to use his bank card at a petrol station to buy a sandwich. Ellitts, aged 26, was branded a ‘coward and a bully’ by a judge who concluded he ‘enjoyed exercising power’ over his victims. He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 27 years.

Syed Alom, Shakir Ali and Mohammed Islam

Syed Alom, Shakir Ali and Mohammed Islam^[25] were involved in the ‘Kam’ county line supplying drugs into Worcestershire.^[26] Between January 2018 and December 2020 they supplied more than 14kg worth of substances to around 2,000 people.

All were convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Alom, aged 35, from Rowley Regis^[27] and Ali, also 35, from Wednesbury^[28] were both sentenced to ten years. Islam, aged 30, from Birmingham received eight years and six months.

Adam Evans

Drug dealer Adam Evans^[29] was arrested in a car park in Cannock^[30]. Police seized a mobile phone, cash, bank receipts and six wraps of cocaine from him.

They found further drug wraps along with £1,640 during a raid on a property. Evans, aged 39, from Cannock admitted drug offences and was sentenced to three years.

Marshall Robinson

Marshall Robinson

Marshall Robinson^[31] stabbed two people in separate attacks but both miraculously survived. The 45-year-old attacked an off-duty officer enjoying a night out with friends in Digbeth^[32] by knifing him in the chest.

Six months later he visited a former business colleague at his home in Tipton where he stabbed him in the neck, causing nerve damage. Robinson, from Sparkhill, admitted two counts of wounding and possession of cannabis. He was jailed for seven years and six months.

March

Cannabis raid gang

Fifteen men were involved in a string of raids on cannabis factories which culminated in two people being murdered by crossbows. Khuzaimah Douglas, aged 19, was part of a group who tried to steal drugs from an address at Pensnett Road, Brierley Hill in February 2020 we reported in March^[33].

But he was fatally shot at the scene by Saghawat Ramzan, who also inadvertently killed his own brother 36-year-old Waseem Ramzan with a stray crossbow bolt. Saghawat was convicted of two counts of murder.

Police had been trailing the burglary gang since December 2019. The group used a thermal imaging gun to target cannabis farms and followed potential growers back from hydroponic stores. Fifteen men were jailed for burglary offences. Read the full details here^[34].

Allain Miller

Jailed: Allain Miller (Image: WMP)

Allain Miller^[35] was believed to be part of a gang after a loaded handgun and a distinctive red bandana were found in his bedroom. The firearm was discovered wrapped in a carrier bag in his draw at the 19-year-old’s home in Putney Road, Handsworth.

Miller admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was jailed for five years.

David Hollick

David Hollick^[36] killed his six-month old baby in the middle of the night at his parents’ home in Walsall^[37]. He inflicted catastrophic injuries to Kairo in the early hours of February 9, 2020 then lied they were caused by a fall.

The baby suffered fractures to his skill and severe injuries to his brain. Experts concluded they were the ‘consequence of severe blunt force impact trauma’ and not rough-handling.

Hollick, aged 29, of Primley Avenue, Walsall was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. He was jailed for 15 years.

Mohsin Ali and Haleema Akhtar

Mohsin Ali (left) and Haleema Akhtar (right) (Image: West Midlands Police)

Mohsin Ali and Haleema Akhtar^[38] ran ‘The Tiger Line’ supplying cocaine and heroin across Birmingham. Significant amounts of drugs and cash as well as mobile phones were seized when a police County Lines taskforce raided properties in Stechford^[39] and Sheldon last November.

Both, aged 28, admitted drug dealing offences. Ali was sentenced to six years and nine months while Akhtar received two years and three months.

Robert Mold

Robert Mold^[40] raped and sexually abused children between 2016 and 2017. The 63-year-old from Bridgtown in Cannock^[41] was arrested in 2020 after his victims came forward.

Mold originally denied wrongdoing before admitting two counts of raping a child, two counts of sexual activity with a child and six counts of sexual assault of a child. He was jailed for 24 years.

Cyle Crowley, Khalil Henriques and Carl Dunning

L-R: Cyle Crowley, Khalil Henriques and Carl Dunning who have been jailed over the death of Hazim Al-Bajouri in Birmingham (Image: WMP)

Teenager Cyle Crowley^[42] stabbed father-of-three Hazim Al-Bajouri to death near a bus stop in Hunters Road, Hockley. The 43-year-old victim had gone to buy drugs from him on June 12 last year when they got into a row in the street.

After the stabbing the killer’s friend Khalil Henriques, 24, tried to help him by putting his blood-stained jumper in the washing machine while his father Carl Dunning, 44, swapped clothes with him so he could run away undetected.

Crowley, aged 19, of Hunters Road, Hockley, was jailed for 17 years for manslaughter. Henriques, of the same address, and Dunning, of Queens Heard Road, Handsworth were both found guilty of assisting an offender and sentenced to two years each.

Rhys Davies

Serial shoplifter Rhys Davies^[43] targeted a number of stores in the Black Country earning him multiple bans, including from Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The 31-year-old of no fixed address admitted ten counts of theft.

He carried out his spate in two months from November to December last year. Davies was sentenced to four months.

Frank Keli, Kalvin Riley, Akeel Whistance, Kyran Lee Hill and Teejay Marks

Top L-R: Frank Keli, Kalvin Riley; Bottom L-R: Akeel Whistance, Kyran Lee Hill, Teejay Marks (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)

Five men^[44] were involved in a County Lines drug dealing racket supplying illegal substances from the Black Country to Aberystwyth in Wales. They exploited a vulnerable user by invading his home and turning it into a drugs den.

Police busted the group despite seizing no actual drugs during the arrests. Two missing boys Kyran Hill and Teejay Marks, both 16 at the time, had been sent to live at the ‘cuckooed’ address to act as runners.

They had travelled there with Kalvin Riley, 23, and Frank Keli, 26. Akeel Whistance was also spotted with the vulnerable user. The five men admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

Keli, from Wolverhampton, was jailed for three years, while Riley, also from the city, received three years, three months. Whistance, from Llanfihangel-Y-Creuddyn, was jailed for two years, six months. Hill, and Marks, both from Wolverhampton, received 12 months detention in a young offenders institution.

Brennan Kilner

Brennan Kilner^[45] carried out a ‘nasty and serious’ attack on a man outside a Tesco^[46] Express in Worcester city centre leaving the victim needing immediate brain surgery. The male was left for dead as he lay unconscious while his attackers fled. He suffered life-changing injuries.

Kilner, aged 26, of Mersey Road, Worcester, initially claimed he acted in self defence but eventually admitted grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to three years.

‘Avon’ and ‘Blacky’ lines drug gang

Ten people were involved in running two County Lines drug operations out of the Black Country for three years. The ‘Avon Line’ supplied cocaine to Telford while the ‘Blacky Line’ provided drugs to Blackpool.

It is estimated the gang, based in Tipton and Walsall, sold drugs with a street value of more than £1 million in the period. In total they have been jailed for over 40 years. Read the full details here^[47].

April

Colin Hall

Colin Hall (Image: West Midlands Police)

Colin Hall^[48] was jailed for historic sex offences after abusing a young boy for four years in the 1980s. The victim came forward in 2018 and told police he met the perpetrator when he introduced him to his dogs, which they would then walk together, we reported in April^[49].

Hall bought him gifts and alcohol as he groomed him for a year before introducing him to sexual encounters. The 79-year-old admitted seven counts of indecent assault between 1984 and 1988. He was jailed for 16 years.

Andrew Fox

Andrew Fox^[50] sexually abused two boys in the 1990s and 2000s. The victims came forward after they had seen he had been convicted for trying to meet up with a 13-year-old male, for which he was handed a community order in 2018.

The 61-year-old claimed he was trying to mentor and act as a father figure. Fox, of Hagley Road, Halesowen, was found guilty of the historic sex offences and was sentenced to six years in relation to one victim and a further year in relation to the other.

Akeem Aldred

Akeem Aldred (Image: West Midlands Police)

Akeem Aldred^[51] set up a drug dealing operation to ‘protect his family’, he claimed. The 21-year-old said he had been wrongly accused of stealing cannabis from his supplier and that he had to start selling cocaine and heroin to settle a debt which ‘had nothing to do with him’.

He feared harm would come to his relatives if he refused. Aldred, of Rooker Avenue, Wolverhampton, used his partner’s car to make deliveries and also instructed someone else to help him.

He admitted possession with intent to supply crack cocaine, being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and being concerned in the supply of heroin between September 2023 and February 2024. Aldred was sentenced to 32 months.

Hayden Frost

Hayden Frost^[52] shot a man in the neck in a bungled attempt to kill him after stalking his target on a night out. The 26-year-old followed the victim to the Marston Green Tavern, the Iron Horse in Stechford and then to a friend’s address.

He waited and hid in an alleyway before he chased and fired shots at the target when he left the property to go to a cashpoint. Fragments of the bullet which hit the man’s neck remain in his shoulder.

Frost, of Laburnum Avenue, Solihull^[53], fled on an e-bike. The motive for the attack remains a mystery. He was sentenced to 32 years after being convicted of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

William Stokes

William Stokes

Cocaine dealer Williams Stokes^[54] referred to himself as ‘Trendybuster’ on encrypted messaging platform EncroChat. CCTV captured the 35-year-old handing over £96,000 for drugs in Sutton Coldfield.

His messages revealed he had drug connections in Europe. Stokes, of Aldridge Road, Walsall, admitted being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. He was sentenced to 10 years and two months.

Lee, Luke and Lewis O’Brien

Father and sons Lee, Luke and Lewis O’Brien killed family friend Darren Smith and stole two expensive Rolex watches from his wrist. They ambushed and fatally beat the 51-year-old at a phone shop in Shard End near his home.

After the attack the father and sons fled to Torquay where they were arrested. Mr Smith, who had an underlying heart condition, walked unsteadily out of the shop before collapsing from a heart attack nearby. Lee O’Brien was also expecting Mr Smith to provide a court statement supposedly exonerating him in a separate case relating to stolen cars they were both involved in.

All three defendants admitted manslaughter. Lee O’Brien, aged 51, from, Stechford^[55], was sentenced to 11 years, eight months. Luke O’Brien, 36, from Birmingham city centre, and Lewis O’Brien, 31, from Yardley^[56], were both sentenced to 12 years and six months.

Remy Gordon, Kami Carpenter and Reegan Anderson

Remy Gordon, Kami Carpenter and Reegan Anderson

Kami Carpenter stabbed semi-professional footballer Cody FIsher to death on the dancefloor of The Crane nightclub in Digbeth on Boxing Day, 2022. He did not even know him but exacted revenge on behalf of his friend Remy Gordon, who held a petty grudge over the 23-year-old supposedly nudging him in the back at a club two nights earlier.

A trial heard Gordon became annoyed that Mr Fisher accepted his invitation to go outside and was not intimidated by him. Within minutes he posted a picture of him to his Snapchat group saying ‘due to shank him up’, which is exactly what happened less than 48 hours later.

Reegan Anderson was with his co-accused when a brawl erupted on he dancefloor of The Crane but was cleared of homicide offences. He was however convicted for affray for attacking Mr Fisher’s friend.

Carpenter, aged 22 and from Kings Norton, and Gordon, 23 and from Rednal, were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life with minimum terms of 25 years and 26 years respectively. Anderson, aged 19 and from Erdington, received 18 months detention.

Aaron Caines

Aaron Caines beat up two women including stabbing one in the hand. The 33-year-old attacked the first victim at her home in Worcester and also lashed out at her friend that tried to intervene.

He damaged the woman’s TV, phone and also made a hole in the ceiling before he tried to pressure her into dropping the allegations. Caines was found guilty of assault causing grievous bodily harm, assault causing actual bodily harm, two counts of criminal damage and harassment, as well as a non-domestic violence related common assault. He was sentenced to five years and eight months.

Justin Buckley, Chris Hands, Reece Pedley and John O’Shaughnessy

(Clockwise from top left) Justin Buckley, Chris Hands, John O’Shaughnessy and Reece Pedley

Justin Buckley, Chris Hands, John O’Shaughnessy and Reece Pedley targeted cashpoints^[57] all around the country stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds. The gang used expensive tools stolen from a fire station as they carried out more than a dozen raids between 2022 and 2023.

They struck at several premises in the West Midlands, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire^[58] and West Mercia areas. They all admitted conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to handle stolen vehicles.

Buckley, aged 40 and from Hall Green was jailed for eight years and four months while Hands, 37 and from Kings Heath^[59] was sentenced to nine years and six months. Pedley, aged 34 and from Yardley Wood was sent down for seven years and seven months while O’Shaughnessy, 36 and from Kings Heath was handed eight years.

Kristaps Berzins

Kristaps Berzins^[60] sexually assaulted a young woman on a train from Birmingham. The 34-year-old sat next the victim and engaged her in conversation but his comments became personal, inappropriate and then aggressive.

He sexually assaulted the woman who moved to another seat and reported what happened when he went to the toilet. Berzins, of no fixed address, admitted the offence. He was sentenced to seven months.

May

Chicago Thompson and Malachi Thompson

Cousins Chicago and Malachi Thompson

Cousins Chicago and Malachi Thompson^[61] carried out a violent ‘eviction by intimidation’. The pair stormed a property in Erdington following a fallout between the latter’s sister and her housemates, we reported in May^[62].

Malachi grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed a man in the back while Chicago pulled out a fake gun and pointed it at the victim. Malachi Thompson, aged 26, from Frankley^[63], was found guilty of unlawful wounding and was sentenced to 33 months. Chicago Thompson, aged 28, from Erdington^[64] was convicted of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for 30 months.

Abdullah Alnamer

Abdullah Alnamer^[65] raped a woman after enticing her into his car in Birmingham city centre^[66]. He took advantage of the victim, in her 20s, after she became separated from her friends on a night out.

Alnamer tried to cover his own tracks by selling the car two days later. The 35-year-old from Hall Green^[67] was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 15 years.

Vitali Tanga

(Image: WMP)

Vitali Tanga^[68] killed Alfred Mattox at the victim’s home in Wolverhampton because he was gay. While drunk on vodka he lashed out at the 56-year-old and repeatedly kicked him in the head.

He claimed to the police that he had to ‘show him he was a man’ after the victim made a pass at him. Tanga, aged 40, from Wolverhampton was found guilty of murder as well as assaulting Mr Mattox’s lodger. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years.

Dillon Kelleher

Dillon Kelleher^[69] was found with dozens of heroin and cocaine wraps as well as more than £300 in cash at a property in Tamworth^[70]. Messages on his phone showed he had been dealing in the area.

The 29-year-old from Kingstanding admitted supplying class A drugs. He was sentenced to four years and three months.

Jamie Hillman

Jamie Hillman (Image: West Midlands Police)

Jamie Hillman^[71] abandoned his Staffordshire^[72] Bull Terrier leaving it to starve to death on a sofa in a home in Wolverhampton. In a separate incident the prolific burglar broke into a home by removing a window and stole £300 worth of items including a toilet seat.

Police forced entry to a property to find the body of pet dog Diesel, which was severely emaciated and badly flea-ridden. Evidence suggested he had been suffering for weeks.

Hillman, from Wolverhampton, was sentenced to three years and eight months after admitting three animal welfare offences and burglary. He was also banned from having animals for 15 years.

Rikardo Reid, Joshua Nelson, Mickel Gardner, Cree Dacres, Himesh Suri and Ian Massie

Gangster rapper Rikardo Reid^[73] ran the ‘Flash’ drugs line supplying cocaine and heroin to users in Scottish city Aberdeen. His second in command was Joshua Nelson, also a rapper, who operated a separate racket supplying class A substances by post.

Ian Massie was the Aberdeen-based distributor while Mickel Gardner had allowed his address in Erdington to be used as a safehouse. Cree Dacres acted as courier and Himesh Suri was a street dealer. The gang were all convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. They were jailed for a total of more than 45 years.

Akelle Charles and Ricardo Thomas

Akelle Charles and Ricardo Thomas (Image: West Midlands Police)

Akelle Charles and Ricardo Thomas^[74] were caught with a gun and a sinister clown mask after being stopped at a service station. They had travelled to the Black Country from London.

The pistol, which was recovered from a black Nike man bag, was linked to a previous shooting in the capital. Both men aged 33 admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Charles, from London, was sentenced to six years and nine months while Thomas, from Smethwick^[75], received eight years.

Connor Jones

New driver Connor Jones^[76] inhaled laughing gas and smoked cannabis before killing his friend Kane Foster in a horror crash. The 21-year-old, who had only had a licence for four months, lost control of his Ford Focus in Gornal whilst doing almost double the 30mph speed limit.

He collided head-on with a Peugeot causing fatal injuries to 18-year-old Mr Foster as well as injuries to two female passengers. Jones, from Gornal, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for 12 years and banned from the roads for 13 years.

Max Williams and Daniel Morgan

Max Williams and Daniel Morgan (Image: WMP)

Max Williams and Daniel Morgan^[77] traded in drugs and guns. The pair used the names ‘Skilledtwig’ and ‘Noisy Jade’ on encrypted messaging platform EncroChat which was busted in an international investigation.

Wiliams, aged 36, from Wolverhampton, was jailed for 24 years after being found guilty of supplying class A and B drugs and the supply of firearms and ammunition. Morgan, aged 40, from Kingstanding, admitted the offences and received 15 years.

Adrian Monk

Adrian Monk^[78] was convicted of right wing terror offences after criminal documents were found at his home in Rugeley. The 33-year-old admitted ten charges and was sentenced to five years and two months.

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18. ^{^} Stourbridge (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
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21. ^{^} M42. (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
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23. ^{^} Carl Ellitts (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
24. ^{^} Wolverhampton (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
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35. ^{^} Allain Miller (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
36. ^{^} David Hollick (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
37. ^{^} Walsall (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
38. ^{^} Mohsin Ali and Haleema Akhtar (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
39. ^{^} Stechford (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
40. ^{^} Robert Mold (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
41. ^{^} Cannock (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
42. ^{^} Cyle Crowley (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
43. ^{^} Rhys Davies (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
44. ^{^} Five men (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
45. ^{^} Brennan Kilner (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
46. ^{^} Tesco (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
47. ^{^} here (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
48. ^{^} Colin Hall (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
49. ^{^} we reported in April (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
50. ^{^} Andrew Fox (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
51. ^{^} Akeem Aldred (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
52. ^{^} Hayden Frost (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
53. ^{^} Solihull (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
54. ^{^} Williams Stokes (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
55. ^{^} Stechford (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
56. ^{^} Yardley (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
57. ^{^} targeted cashpoints (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
58. ^{^} Warwickshire (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
59. ^{^} Kings Heath (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
60. ^{^} Kristaps Berzins (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
61. ^{^} Chicago and Malachi Thompson (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
62. ^{^} we reported in May (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
63. ^{^} Frankley (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
64. ^{^} Erdington (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
65. ^{^} Abdullah Alnamer (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
66. ^{^} Birmingham city centre (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
67. ^{^} Hall Green (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
68. ^{^} Vitali Tanga (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
69. ^{^} Dillon Kelleher (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
70. ^{^} Tamworth (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
71. ^{^} Jamie Hillman (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
72. ^{^} Staffordshire (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
73. ^{^} Rikardo Reid (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
74. ^{^} Akelle Charles and Ricardo Thomas (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
75. ^{^} Smethwick (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
76. ^{^} Connor Jones (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
77. ^{^} Max Williams and Daniel Morgan (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
78. ^{^} Adrian Monk (www.birminghammail.co.uk)