Somerset criminals jailed in January for horrific crimes

It is 2025 - and while the new year has begun, there are a raft of criminals who have been put behind bars for crimes they have committed, meaning they have not had a Happy New Year. Judges at Taunton and Bristol Crown Courts have been dispending justice to those who have broken the law and dishing out prison sentences The latest tranche of criminals includes a man who committed "an attack of monstrous evil with the worst possible consequences" on an eight-week-old baby, drivers who have caused the deaths of people, and two men who beat a man to death outside of a hotel

Here SomersetLive looks at some of the criminals jailed in January REECE MCKINVERN A 31-year-old man has been jailed for careless driving which led to the death of a "much-loved" 83-year-old woman.

Beryl Howard was hit by a Transit van driven by Reece McKinven in March 2023 as he tried to reverse his vehicle in Green Lane Avenue, Street. McKinven, of Pearmain Road in Street, ran over 83-year-old Beryl several times on Thursday, March 16, 2023 while trying to reverse his van, leaving her with critical injuries and she was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. McKinven, 31, was arrested and found with 0.5g of cannabis and cannabis in his system, though it was not above the legal limit.

Officers then found more cannabis inside his van. McKiven was charged with causing death by careless driving, causing death by driving a vehicle without a licence, causing death by driving a vehicle without insurance, and possession of a class B drug - cannabis. He pleaded guilty to the offences and was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court on Tuesday, January 28 to 13 months in prison.

McKinven has also been banned from driving for two and a half years.

Reece McKinven (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

ROSS NEILAND Grieving relatives of a lorry driver killed in a motorway crash have revealed how their lives have been "turned upside down" - and issued a road safety warning. Michal Kaminski was driving on the M27 near junction five for Southampton Airport when a Nissan Juke and VW Polo next to him collided.
The Polo driver had been speeding at 90mph, despite treacherous weather conditions, and lost control of the vehicle. Michal, known as Mike, was forced to swerve and his Mercedes lorry hit the concrete pillar of a gantry and later burst into flames. The 36-year-old, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the VW Polo, Ross Neiland, aged 38, of Littlehampton, was jailed for nine years and nine months on 21 January. He had previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death whilst driving uninsured, driving without a licence and failing to give a specimen.
(Image: Hampshire Police/PA)

TOM KEMBER A Somerset man who committed "an attack of monstrous evil with the worst possible consequences" on an eight-week-old baby has been jailed for 21 years.
Tom Kember, 27, caused grievous bodily harm with intent to the child at a property in Taunton, Somerset, in January 2020, resulting in head injuries that have led to profound disabilities. Bristol Crown Court heard the baby, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was born prematurely and had been discharged from hospital just 10 days before the incident. Footage from inside a McDonald's restaurant shows Kember and his partner, Katherine Reilly, 25, eating a meal as he searched on his phone for terms including "if baby hits its head does the baby sleep a lot".
It is believed that the baby had sustained injuries at the hands of Kember by that point, and he committed a further assault after leaving the restaurant at about 11.17pm on January 13. Kember called 111 reporting that the infant was unresponsive at about 1.20am on January 14. Paramedics noted the baby had facial bruising and raised concerns with staff at Musgrove Park Hospital, who alerted Avon and Somerset Police.
A jury at Bristol Crown Court convicted Kember of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to the baby, while Reilly was convicted of child cruelty, in October last year. Judge Julian Lambert jailed Kember for 21 years with a further four years on extended licence on Friday.
Tom Kember, who has been jailed for 21 years for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, after a baby was left disabled (Image: PA)

JOSEPH DIX AND MACAULEY RADDOCK Two men from Somerset have been jailed after beating a man to death outside of a hotel.
Joseph Dix, aged 26 and from Frome, and Macauley Ruddock, aged 27 and from Bath, killed Andrew Main, 33, after a drunken night out in Swansea.[1] The pair brutally punched Mr Main, a dad-of-two, in the head as he laid unconscious and bleeding on the pavement. As reported by Wales Online [2], they were given life sentences at Swansea Crown Court following a two-week trial.
The fatal attack took place outside the Travelodge hotel, on Princes Way, on July 17 last year. Mr Main, from Falkirk in Scotland, died from his injuries on August 14 having never regained consciousness. The court heard how all three men met in the Coyote Ugly bar in the city on the night of July 16.
They had all been drinking alcohol and the defendants had also taken cocaine which Ruddock had bought earlier that evening. The violence then erupted outside of the hotel after the men were involved in an argument. The fight ended with Mr Main swinging punches at Dix, of Fromefield, and then running off - the defendants pursued Mr Main and Dix knocked him to the ground with a punch from behind to the back of his head.
After deliberating for five hours and 11 minutes a jury convicted them both of murder. Both Dix and Ruddock were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 13 years, 176 days.
Joseph Dix and Macauley Ruddock (Image: South Wales Police)

LEIGH BREAN A man who drank 10 pints of beer before causing a crash which caused life-changing injury to others has been jailed and banned from driving for more than a decade - as newly released video captures the moment he was confronted by police.
Leigh Brean, aged 43 and of Lawrence Road, Wrington, appeared at Bristol Crown Court where he was handed a three year and two month jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and for failing to provide a specimen. He was also handed a driving ban for 11 years and seven months. The court heard how on October 28 2023, Brean had been driving a Volkswagen Tiguan with two passengers along the A38 near Bristol Airport [3] following a night out.
In a five-hour period, Brean had drunk 10 pints before getting behind the wheel of the car.
Leigh Brean, of Lawrence Road, Wrington - captured here on police bodyworn camera after the crash - was jailed for three years and two months in prison, and was told he was not allowed to drive for 11 years and seven months. - (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

STEPHEN ADETOYI A man from Somerset is among five people who have been sentenced for their involvement in a county lines operation in the South West. All five people appeared at Winchester Crown Court on January 17 after pleading guilty.
Stephen Adetoyi, from Midsomer Norton, was one of those sentenced. The 26-year-old, of Orchard Vale, was sentenced to four years in prison for being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and being concerned in the supply of cannabis in Avon and Somerset. Jake Edmunds, 24, of Ashley Road, Salisbury was sentenced to 33 months in prison for being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Jack Roche, 28, of Pinewood Way, Salisbury, was sentenced to three years in prison for being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Jonathan Turford, 41, of Philip Road, Wilton, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Gerard Mulimbi, 21, of Broadgate, London, was sentenced to two years in prison for being concerned in supply of cocaine.
Stephen Adetoyi, 26, of Orchard Vale, Midsomer Norton (Image: Wiltshire Police)

DOMINIC SCRIBBINS
A man who sexually abused a series of young girls across Bristol and Dorset has been jailed for 20 years. Dominic Scribbins, from Plymouth, was found guilty of 16 'hateful' sexual offences over a 16 year period, where his youngest victim was just four-years-old. The 39-year-old was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court today (Monday, January 13) after a seven-day-trial last November, where the jury found Scribbins guilty of eight counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13, two counts of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration and one count each of assault by penetration, sexual assault and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
The court was told that, between 2003 and 2019, Scribbins sexually and indecently assaulted several young girls between the ages of four and 14 in Bristol and Dorset. The four-year long investigation began in 2020 after one of his victims came forward and reported a series of non-recent sexual assaults carried out by Scribbins. Other victims then came forward with their own reports and Scribbins was arrested in 2021, with charges brought in May last year.
On Friday, November 29, the jury found Scribbins guilty and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was also was given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sexual Offender Register for life.
Dominic Scribbins (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

RONALD BURTON A drug dealer who preyed on vulnerable people has been jailed.
Ronald Burton, 36, played a leading role in supplying drugs in Clevedon. He was arrested after police raided a home in Yeolands Drive in November last year. Officers seized cash, cannabis, cocaine and crack cocaine.
Burton, of Elton Road in Clevedon, was then charged with possession with intent to supply a class A drug (cocaine) and a class B drug (cannabis). He appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Monday (January 6) where he pleaded guilty to both offences and was sentenced to 45 months in prison.
Ronald Burton has been jailed (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

PATRICK HART A doctor from the West Country has been jailed for damaging petrol pumps at a motorway service station to draw attention to the issue of climate change [4].
Dr Patrick Hart cracked the display panels of 16 pumps on the M25 using a hammer and chisel as part of a Just Stop Oil protest. He said he feared prison but has no regrets, describing his crime as "an act of care". The 38-year-old GP [5], from Bristol, carried out the action at the Esso petrol station at Thurrock, in Essex, in August 2022.
He then waited to be arrested before pleading not guilty. As reported by Bristol Live [6], he was jailed for 12 months on Tuesday, January 7. Dr Hart, who works with the Bridge View Medical group in South Bristol, now faces being struck off or suspended by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) as a result of his actions.
Dr Patrick Hart, a South Bristol GP, has been jailed for damaging an Esso petrol station on the M25 (Image: Just Stop Oil)

JOSHUA WHITTAKER A man from Trowbridge has been jailed for 33 months after admitted assaulting his former partner.
Joshua Whittaker, 31, of Jenkins Street, was sentenced on January 9 at Salisbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to Non-Fatal Strangulation and ABH. The court heard that on October 3, Whittaker strangled, bitten and hit his victim at her friends house, and then later assaulted her again while on bail on October 20. As well as the prison sentence, Whittaker was also given a five year restraining order.
A man from Trowbridge has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for assaulting his former partner. Joshua Whittaker, 31, of Jenkins Street, was sentenced on January 9 at Salisbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to Non-Fatal Strangulation and ABH. (Image: Wiltshire Police)

ASHLEY BILLING A disqualified driver who took to the wheel while intoxicated and killed a 'selfless, beloved mum' has been jailed for nine years.
Rebecca Ashmead, 49, known to friends as Bex, was fatally injured as she walked along Kennedy Way, in Yate [7], South Gloucestershire [8], last spring, when drink-driver Ashley Billing mowed her down then drove off and left her for dead. Emergency services were called to the scene and 49-year-old Rebecca was given first aid but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The Ford Focus driven by Billing failed to stop at the scene but police officers tracked down the vehicle's owner and Billing was established as the driver.
The 39-year-old was arrested soon after and officers found he had been driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision. Billing, of Rossetti Road, Almondsbury, pleaded guilty to causing death by due care while over the limit, causing death by driving while disqualified, and causing death by driving a vehicle in which the driver is unlicensed and uninsured. He was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court Thursday, January 9, to nine years, reduced from 12 years in acknowledgement of his guilty plea.
He has also been banned from driving for 10 years.
Disqualified and unlicenced drink driver Ashley Billing, 39, of Rossetti Road, Almondsbury (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

TYSON MILLER A stalker has been jailed for "scaring the life" out of his ex-girlfriend. Tyson Junior Miller, 37, sent his victim a friend request on SnapChat just hours after being released on bail.
He pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm and stalking involving fear of violence as well as breaching his bail conditions.
Miller, of Hill Rise, Chippenham, was jailed for 12 months at Salisbury Magistrates Court on Thursday, December 19.
Tyson Junior Miller (Image: Wiltshire Police)

References

^ killed Andrew Main, 33, after a drunken night out in Swansea. (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
^ Wales Online (www.walesonline.co.uk)
^ Bristol Airport (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^ draw attention to the issue of climate change (www.devonlive.com)
^ 38-year-old GP (www.devonlive.com)
^ Bristol Live (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^ Yate (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^ South Gloucestershire (www.bristolpost.co.uk)