Sent down in May shows a chilling theme in Birmingham that’s taking over the city
From the homophobic killer to the gangster rapper drugs kingpin, these are the latest criminals to be sent to prison. This is our May 2024 roundup of lawbreakers sentenced to immediate custody.
The month featured a disturbing number of crooks jailed for gun-related offences. Also look out for:
- The cruel dog owner who left his Staffy to starve to death
- The new driver who took laughing gas and cannabis before causing a deadly crash
- The friends turned foes who engaged in a gun and machete fight in a church car park
- The teenagers who hunted down and killed a man who tried to escape a gang lifestyle
- The professional pickpocket who used a clothing trick to steal iPhones
Our list includes the court cases we covered in Birmingham[1], Solihull[2], Sutton Coldfield[3], the Black Country[4], Staffordshire[5] and Worcestershire[6]. Scroll through the full list of criminals jailed below.
Get the latest court and crime news direct via our WhatsApp community here[8]
Chicago Thompson and Malachi Thompson
Cousins Chicago and Malachi Thompson
Cousins Chicago and Malachi Thompson[9] 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.
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[10], was found guilty of unlawful wounding and was sentenced to 33 months. Chicago Thompson, aged 28, from Erdington[11] was convicted of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for 30 months.
Abdullah Alnamer
Abdullah Alnamer
Abdullah Alnamer[12] raped a woman after enticing her into his car in Birmingham city centre[13]. 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[14] was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 15 years.
Vitali Tanga
Vitali Tanga (Image: WMP)
Vitali Tanga[15] 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
Dillon Kelleher[16] was found with dozens of heroin and cocaine wraps as well as more than £300 in cash at a property in Tamworth[17]. 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[18] abandoned his Staffordshire[19] 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
Rikardo Reid, Joshua Nelson, Mickel Gardner, Cree Dacres, Himesh Suri and Ian Massie (Image: West Midlands Police)
Gangster rapper Rikardo Reid[20] 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[21] 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[22], received eight years.
Connor Jones
Connor Jones (Image: West Midlands Police)
New driver Connor Jones[23] 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[24] 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
Adrian Monk[25] 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.
Kemarn Riley
Kemarn Riley (Image: WMP)
Kemarn Riley[26] manufactured and supplied guns in Birmingham and London. Police recovered a converted blank firing pistol, shotgun shells and a ‘slam gun’ in the back garden of his address in Handsworth.
Further guns were forensically linked back to the 24-year-old suggesting he was making the weapons. A number of firearms and metal pipes – used to make slam guns – were discovered when he was arrested at his new address in Ward End.
Riley was convicted of firearms offences and sentenced to 12 years and nine months.
Jelani Selassie
Jelani Selassie
Police found guns, drugs and cash inside Jelani Selassie’s[27] house in Winson Green. Three loaded firearms were recovered from the lining of the bed.
Ammunition as well as £18,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis were seized. Selassie, aged 33, admitted possession of firearms and possession with intent to supply drug offences. He was sentenced to eight years and six months.
Gary Bennett
Gary Bennett
Gary Bennett[28] sexually abused seven children during a nine-year period. The 61-year-old from Bromsgrove[29] was found guilty of 57 offences committed between 1995 and 2004 including rape, buggery and indecent assault.
Bennett struck in various places including Kidderminster, Stourbridge[30], Habberley , Leominster, Bridgnorth and London. He was sentenced to 28 years.
Alan Hawkins
Alan Hawkins (Image: WMP)
Alan Hawkins[31] assaulted two British Transport Police officers at New Street Station. He lashed out after the staff members were alerted to his disorderly behaviour.
The 29-year-old was ejected from the station but returned and punched both officers in the head. Hawkins admitted two charges of assaulting an emergency worker and was sentenced to 10 weeks.
Ray Trewern
Ray Trewern
Ray Trewern[32] groomed a 12-year-old schoolgirl he met online. He bought her gifts, took her shopping and on one occasion kissed her.
The 35-year-old from Birmingham admitted sexual communications with a child, meeting a female child under the age of 16 following sexual grooming, sexual assault of a female child under 13 and possession of indecent photographs of a child. He was sentenced to two years and three months.
Juraj Kozar
Juraj Kozar (Image: West Midlands Police)
Juraj Kozar[33] caused a high-speed crash in Wolverhampton then tried to flee the country on a ferry. He was driving a Suzuki at up to 93mph on the 30mph road before ploughing into a VW Polo.
He caused life-changing injuries to a woman in her 60s as well as his own passenger, aged 17. Kozar was arrested aboard a ferry which had already set sail from Kent.
The 29-year-old from Wolverhampton admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop after a collision and driving without insurance. He was jailed for four years and handed a seven-year driving ban.
Nicholas Robinson
Nicholas Robinson (Image: WMP)
Nicholas Robinson[34] asked an undercover police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl online to perform a sex act on him. He also unwittingly told another covert cop that he had a sexual interest in children.
The 35-year-old from Wolverhampton admitted four counts of child sex offences, including distributing an indecent image of a child and attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child. He was sentenced to three years.
Lee Connelly
Lee Connelly
Lee Connelly[35] cuckooed a vulnerable woman’s home in Tamworth as he ran the ‘Tony’ drug line. Police raided the address and found the 30-year-old inside with more than 180 deals of cocaine and heroin as well as £500 in cash.
Several mobile phones linked to the supply line were also seized. Connelly, from Great Barr, was found guilty of possession with intent to supply both heroin and cocaine and was jailed for six years.
Robert Hampton
Robert Hampton
Robert Hampton[36] sexually abused and raped a boy between 2007 and 2010. The 77-year-old from Malvern was found guilty of rape of a boy under 13, two counts of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, attempted rape and three offences of assault by penetration. He was jailed for 18 years.
Awais Ahmed and Aman Baig
Awais Ahmed and Aman Baig
Awais Ahmed[37] shot one-time friend Antroye Coley in the chest in a church car park in Ward End. Following an apparent fallout the pair had a chance encounter in Alum Rock and left the scene, each to arm themselves with weapons.
Coley grabbed a machete and along with friend Junior Losinho tracked Ahmed down to his known gang hangout spot at the car park. Ahmed, who was sitting in a Seat Leon with his friend Aman Baig, opened fire as they approached and hit the chest of Coley, who managed to stab him with the machete.
Ahmed, aged 21 and of Burney Lane, was found guilty of wounding with intent and possession of a firearm with intent. He was jailed for 24 years. Baig, 21, of Clipston Road, was convicted of possession of a firearm and sentenced to seven years. Coley, aged 19 and Losinho, 21, both from Hodge Hill admitted wounding and will be sentenced at a later date.
Reece Woodthorpe
Reece Woodthorpe (Image: WMP)
Reece Woodthorpe[38] was involved in the theft of a number of high-end vehicles across the West Midlands, including Range Rovers. The 24-year-old was identified by police thanks a tattoo on his hand captured in an image of him driving one of the vehicles.
When officers raided his home in Wolverhampton they found a key fob and electronic equipment used to gain keyless access to cars. The device was connected to at least eight Range Rover thefts.
Woodthorpe admitted conspiring to steal vehicles. He was sentenced to four years and seven months.
Dean Hurst
Dean Hurst (Image: WMP)
Dean Hurst[39] threatened to execute his ex partner after she ended their relationship following months of physical and verbal abuse. The 49-year-old left her dozens of threatening voicemails, leaving her in fear for her life.
He admitted stalking and two counts of assault. Hurst was sentenced to two years and three months. He was also banned from contacting the victim for ten years by a restraining order.
Benjamin Wilkes, Patrick Brookes, Sonny Loverage and Ronan McCullogh
Clockwise from top left: Benjamin Wilkes, Patrick Brookes, Sonny Loverage, Ronan McCullogh (Image: WMP)
Benjamin Wilkes, Patrick Brookes, Sonny Loverage and Ronan McCullogh[40] were among a gang who killed 21-year-old Bailey Atkinson in Walsall town centre. The victim had moved to the town from Coventry to ‘escape a gang lifestyle’.
He was out with a female friend when his killers turned up in two cars and chased him down. Mr Atkinson was stabbed multiple times, including with a Rambo blade, before his attackers fled.
Seven teenagers in total were found guilty of murder and handed life sentences, including three who are too young to be named, while two further youths were cleared. Brookes, aged 18 from Walsall and McCulloch, 19 and from Bloxwich must both serve a minimum of 20 years.
Loveridge, aged 20, from Bloxwich, was handed a minimum of 23 years while Wilkes, aged 18 from Bloxwich, must serve a minimum of 18 years. Three 17-year-olds were given 19-year minimum terms.
Adam Prepara
Adam Prepara
Adam Prepara[41] was part of a group that supplied up to £260m worth of cocaine throughout the UK. The gang, which included semi-professional footballers, were brought down after a van containing 8kg of cocaine was stopped.
CCTV showed them coming and going from storage units in west London. Between April and October 2022 it was estimated the group suppled 2.7 tonnes of high grade cocaine valued between £208,160,000 to £260,200,000.
Prepara, aged 35 from Solihull admitted conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs. He was sentenced to 24 years.
Sabka Ivanova
Sabka Ivanova
Professional pickpocket Sabka Ivanova[42] targeted women in Birmingham city centre. She struck five times in one day after travelling from London as she went on the hunt for iPhones.
After identifying a target she would slip her hand into her victim’s pockets, concealed beneath an item of clothing being held by an accomplice. The 36-year-old, from Edmonton, London, was caught when she returned to Birmingham a month later and was recognised by a store detective in H&M.
Ivanova admitted four counts of theft and two charges of attempted theft. She was sentenced to two years and 11 months.
References
- ^ Birmingham (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Solihull (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Sutton Coldfield (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Black Country (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Staffordshire (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Worcestershire (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Win the ultimate CBeebies experience at Alton Towers Resort, including an overnight themed sleepover! (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ here (chat.whatsapp.com)
- ^ Chicago and Malachi Thompson (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Frankley (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Erdington (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Abdullah Alnamer (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Birmingham city centre (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Hall Green (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Vitali Tanga (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Dillon Kelleher (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Tamworth (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Jamie Hillman (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Staffordshire (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Rikardo Reid (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Akelle Charles and Ricardo Thomas (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Smethwick (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Connor Jones (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Max Williams and Daniel Morgan (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Adrian Monk (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Kemarn Riley (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Jelani Selassie’s (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Gary Bennett (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Bromsgrove (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Stourbridge (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Alan Hawkins (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Ray Trewern (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Juraj Kozar (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Nicholas Robinson (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Lee Connelly (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Robert Hampton (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Awais Ahmed (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Reece Woodthorpe (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Dean Hurst (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Benjamin Wilkes, Patrick Brookes, Sonny Loverage and Ronan McCullogh (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Adam Prepara (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Sabka Ivanova (www.birminghammail.co.uk)