Jailed in August 2024 featuring some of the worst drivers we’ve ever seen
From the the drink-driver who left a baby permanently brain damaged to the gang who smuggled drugs in pallets of chicken, these are the latest criminals from Birmingham[1] and beyond to be sent to jail. This is our August 2024 roundup of lawbreakers sentenced to immediate imprisonment.
It was a month which saw a number of dreadful drivers and significant drug dealers put behind bars. Also look out for:
- The heartless thief who befriended her victim in the supermarket
- The controlling boyfriend who allowed his partner just one meal a day
- The serial thief who climbed a roof and threw tiles at police
- The killer involved in a notorious Birmingham shooting
Scroll through the full list below which includes the court cases we covered in Birmingham[2], Solihull[3], Sutton Coldfield[4], the Black Country[5], Staffordshire[6] and Worcestershire[7].
Abderahmen Berouaken
Abderahmen Berouaken
Pickpocket Abderahmen Berouaken[8] befriended shoppers and revellers before stealing their phones. The 24-year-old targeted people on nights out in Birmingham’s Hurst Street and struck multiple times in one day.
He had travelled to the city centre to steal on and off for a round a year but was captured after he grabbed one woman’s phone only to drop it on the floor leading to security and then police being alerted. Berouaken, of no fixed address, admitted eight offences of theft and was sentenced to 14 months.
Kyle Marcano
Kyle Marcano
Kyle Marcano[9] called himself ‘TikTok Jihadist’ and plotted to join Islamic State to become a sniper. The 28-year-old took an ‘oath of allegiance’ to the terror group and also set up a Telegram chat where he encouraged others, including a 14-year-old boy, to join him.
Marcano shared extremist material including propaganda showing executions and he warned he would carry out violence in the UK if he was prevented from leaving. He was found guilty of professing to belong to a prescribed organised group and three counts of disseminating terrorist material. Marcano was sentenced to 11 years with an extended four-year licence period.
Akeem Lawrence
Akeem Lawrence (Image: WMP)
Akeem Lawrence was involved in the murder of Murtaza Nazir who was shot in the street in Stechford[10] in August 2020. The 26-year-old victim, a father-of-two, got out of his car on Bagshaw Road and was approached by two vehicles with cloned number plates, each with a driver and gunman inside.
A total of ten bullets were fired at Mr Nazir by the shooters before the attackers fled. Lawrence, aged 30, from Clipson Road, Birmingham was linked to the killing by CCTV footage and mobile phone analysis.
He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 35 years after being found guilty of murder and conspiracy to possess a firearm. Two other men have previously been jailed for their involvement.
Malikh Amon
Malikh Amon (Image: WMP)
Speeding driver Malikh Amon[11] mowed down father-of-four Shiraz Ali in Moseley[12] Road, Highgate in January 2022. The 25-year-old fled the scene, dumped the car and then later reported it stolen 15 minutes after the police put out a public appeal for information on the incident.
Mr Ali, aged 41, died from his injuries in hospital a month later. It was established Amon, from Kings Heath[13] was travelling nearly 50mph on the 30mph road. He was sentenced to two years and banned from driving for three years after admitting causing death by careless driving and perverting the course of justice.
Keith Jeremy, Christopher Kennelly, Matthew Cox, Sarah Johnson and Ashley Hutchinson
Keith Jeremy, Christopher Kennelly, Matthew Cox, Sarah Johnson and Ashley Hutchinson
Keith Jeremy, Christopher Kennelly, Matthew Cox, Sarah Johnson and Ashley Hutchinson[14] were involved in the production of cannabis and the supply of drugs. Jeremy, aged 59, of no fixed address was jailed for 19 years and six months while Kennelly, 44, from Sutton Coldfield, was jailed for 14 years and five months.
Cox, aged 33, of no fixed address received nine years and Hutchinson, 58, from Newquay, was sentenced to six years and five months. Johnson, aged 45, from Kingstanding rented the unit in Hockley which was used to grow cannabis. She was jailed for four years.
Reece Caven
Reece Caven
Reece[15] Caven[16] was exposed as a cocaine dealer after police stopped a Vauxhall in Cannock[17] in which he was the passenger. They found a phone on the 21-year-old linked to the supply of drugs as well as another device when they searched his address in the town, where they also recovered more than £19,000 in cash. Caven admitted supplying cocaine and was jailed for five years.
Joe-Lewis Tyler
Joe-Lewis Tyler
Speeding drink-driver Joe-Lewis Tyler[18] caused a crash in Worcester which killed three people, including a six-year-old boy. He hit speeds of 90mph on the 50mph Spetchley Road before the collision.
The occupants of the vehicle struck were Leo Painter, aged six, Courtney Hemming, 26, and Claire Adkins. 39. Tyler, of no fixed address, admitted three charges of causing death by dangerous driving, three offences of causing death whilst driving uninsured and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to 18 years.
Ashley Roden
Ashley Roden (Image: WMP)
Ashley Roden[19] carried out an 11-day crime spree shortly after being handed a suspended sentence at court. He targeted alcohol and cigarettes as he raided Boots, Co-op, Asda[20] and Sainsbury’s[21] stores.
He was arrested in Sutton Coldfield after clambering on top of a roof and throwing tiles at police officers. Roden, aged, 32, admitted multiple offences of burglary, theft from a shop, criminal damage and assault as well as breaching a criminal behaviour order and breaching a suspended sentence. He was jailed for three years and four months.
Marian Plesca
Marian Plesca
Marian Plesca[22] forced his way into an elderly woman’s home in Wolverhampton and robbed him. After entering through the back door of the address in All Saint’s he grabbed the arms of the victim, who was in her 80s, as he snatched a gold necklace and watch.
Plesca, aged 32, also swiped £20 from the kitchen counter as he fled. He admitted robbery and was jailed for eight years.
Andrew Phillips and Vijay Kumar
Andrew Phillips and Vijay Kumar (Image: West Midlands Police)
Speeding driver Vijay Kumar[23] burst through a red light in Snow Hill, Wolverhampton and swerved to avoid an 89-year-old woman crossing the road. But following closely behind him was Andrew Phillips who ploughed into the woman and caused her fatal injuries. He stayed at the scene while cowardly Kumar fled.
Phillips, aged 30, from Wolverhampton admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for six years and eight months as well as banned from driving for eight years. Kumar, 23, also of Wolverhampton, admitted dangerous driving and was sentenced to one year and disqualified from getting behind the wheel for two years and six months.
Charlie Bayliss and Michael Jones
Charlie Bayliss and Michael Jones
County Lines drug dealers Charlie Bayliss and Michael Jones[24] were caught when police raided a flat in Lichfield[25]. Officers seized the main drugs phone, Jones’ personal phone used to advertise locally, £14,000 worth of cocaine, multiple cannabis deals, cash, scales and a customer list.
Bayliss, aged 19 and from Walsall[26], was jailed for four years after admitting drug offences as well as possession of a knife. Jones, aged 36, from Lichfield received two years and six months for drug offences.
George Tandarescu and Andreea Vasile
George Tandarescu and Andreea Vasile (Image: WMP)
‘Pimps’ George Tandarescu and Andreea Vasile[27] exploited women for prostitution in brothels across the West Midlands. The victims’ sexual services were promoted in classified adverts and they were expected to ‘perform sex for long hours every day’.
The couple had ‘complete control’ over the sex work as they ran the illegal racket for three years. Tandarescu, 36 was jailed for five years while Vasile, 34, was sentenced to four years .
Paul Pallett
Paul Pallet (Image: Warwickshire Police)
Paul Pallett[28] forced his ex-girlfriend to sleep on a staircase and allowed her just one meal a day. The 39-year-old subjected the woman to daily abuse for eight years.
He ordered her to stand by the front door and sit upright on the sofa for long periods of time and would attack her if she fell asleep. Pallett, previously from Nuneaton but recently from Redditch[29], also deprived the victim of medical attention after breaking her arm.
He admitted coercive and controlling behaviour, causing grievous bodily harm, assaults and strangulation. Pallett was sentenced to seven years and two months.
Shervonne Jackson
Shervonne Jackson
Shervonne Jackson[30] stole a phone from a vulnerable man’s house after befriending him in a Co-op shop in Wombourne. The 30-year-old followed the victim around the store and asked if he needed help before accompanying him home.
She ransacked his room while he was distracted. Jackson, of no fixed address, admitted theft and was sentenced to 18 months.
Angelo Nacula
Angelo Nacula (Image: West Midlands Police)
Angelo Nacula[31] carried out a six-month burglary spree throughout Birmingham. He was arrested on May 7 this year after breaking into an address on Drews Lane where police were responding to a separate incident.
The 28-year-old was linked to a number of other burglaries through CCTV footage and DNA. He was sentenced to two years and eight months.
Brandon Payne
Brandon Payne
Drink-driver Brandon Payne[32] lost control of his car, mounted the kerb and ploughed into a family on their way to feed the ducks in Brierley Hill. One of the victims was pregnant and had to have an emergency caesarean section while her baby was born with brain damage, which will be permanent.
Her partner suffered serious injuries including broken bones while her two-year-old son who was in a pushchair was also hurt. Payne, aged 24 and from Dudley[33], had just left a pub and was nearly two times over the drink-drive limit. He admitted three charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years and four months.
Drug smuggling gang
Mandeep Singh, Peter Masih, Amandeep Rishi, Maninder Dosanjh, Mohammed Usman, Ashtiaq Ahmed, Mithab Hussain, Sayeed Hasheyman, Kamran Hussain and Ashtiaq Ahmed
A drug smuggling gang[34] transported millions of pounds worth of cocaine and illegal cash around the country in pallets of raw chicken. They used a fleet of vans with hidden compartments to ferry illegal substances around.
Some cash was found stashed in vehicle tyres. A large sum of cocaine being stored in a Sutton Coldfield warehouse bound for Australia was also seized. Ten men were arrested in a ten-day period in July 2020.
Maninder Dosanjh, aged 39, Amandeep Rishi, 42, Mohammed Usman, 29, Rizwan Ali, 34, Kamran Hussain, 34, Peter Masih, 44, Mandeep Singh, 42, and Mithab Hussain, 31, were convicted of drug supply and money laundering offences while Ashtiaq Ahmed, 45, and Sayeed Hasheyman, 38 were convicted of just money laundering. The gang was jailed for more than 80 years in total.
Rio Halls and Kyron Clifton
Rio Halls and Kyron Clifton (Image: WMP)
Teenagers Rio Halls and Kyron Clifton[35] stole more than £300,000 worth of expensive cars. Together they broke into addresses in Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton to swipe keys for BMWs, Mercedes and Range Rovers.
Halls also struck in Staffordshire and was in more than 25 break-ins while Clifton stole a car from Birmingham and was involved in just under 20 incidents. Both, aged 19, admitted conspiracy to burgle. Halls, from Coalpool, was jailed for six years and six months while Clifton, from Darlaston, was sentenced to four years and nine months.
David Follows
David Follows
David Follows[36] reversed his car into one police officer and grappled with another at a petrol station in West Bromwich. The 35-year-old was confronted after being spotted filling up his vehicle, which was on cloned plates.
Follows, from Walsall, admitted two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen and receiving stolen goods. He was sentenced to 17 months.
Sikander Ali
Sikander Ali (Image: WMP)
Sikander Ali[37] supplied £500,000 worth of cocaine and flaunted his illegal wealth, showing off an expensive Patek Philippe watch and driving around in a Mercedes G-Class SUV. The 33-year-old purchased the drug wholesale and then sold it to dealers around the Midlands.
Ali, from Yardley, went by the name ‘Buckglove’ on the encrypted Encrochat platform and also tried to buy a gun for his own protection at one point. He was arrested as he tried to fly to Dubai from Birmingham Airport. Ali was jailed for nine years and six months after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine and transferring a firearm.
Shaun Bennett and Patrick McCormack
Shaun Bennett and Patrick McCormack (Image: WMP)
Shaun Bennett and Patrick McCormack[38] supplied cocaine and heroin in Birmingham through the ‘Jono’ line. The network operated for nearly a year, mainly from Kingstanding.
Bennett, aged 32, was caught in possession of the drugs phones after being arrested for failing to stop and dangerous driving. Analysis of the devices showed incoming calls were regularly diverted to numbers linked to McCormack, aged 46.
Police seized a shotgun, £500 of criminal cash and drugs paraphernalia after raiding a number of warrants. Bennett, from Kingstanding, was jailed for eight years and six months for supplying drugs and dangerous driving. McCormack, also from Kingstanding, received seven years and four months for dealing drugs and possessing a shotgun.
References
- ^ Birmingham (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ 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)
- ^ Abderahmen Berouaken (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Kyle Marcano (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Stechford (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Malikh Amon (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Moseley (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Kings Heath (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Keith Jeremy, Christopher Kennelly, Matthew Cox, Sarah Johnson and Ashley Hutchinson (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Reece (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Caven (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Cannock (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Joe-Lewis Tyler (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Ashley Roden (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Asda (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Sainsbury’s (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Marian Plesca (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Vijay Kumar (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Charlie Bayliss and Michael Jones (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Lichfield (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Walsall (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ George Tandarescu and Andreea Vasile (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Paul Pallett (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Redditch (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Shervonne Jackson (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Angelo Nacula (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Brandon Payne (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Dudley (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ drug smuggling gang (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Rio Halls and Kyron Clifton (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ David Follows (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Sikander Ali (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Shaun Bennett and Patrick McCormack (www.birminghammail.co.uk)