Barber with a secret, grandad in 'Mexican standoff' and 'El Hachis L5' jailed
Meet the defendants locked up over the past seven days
A grandad who squared off with police in a "Mexican stand off", a fake police officer who conned a dozen elderly victims and a drug dealer on the run for five years were among the Merseyside criminals jailed this week. Also locked up was the man behind the Instagram account "El Hachis L5" who sold cannabis via the social media platform.
Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard a thug who slashed a woman during a "revenge" attack at Reminisce Festival continued drinking and taking drugs after leaving his victim screaming in horror. Here are the faces of 15 defendants from across our region who were locked up over the past seven days:
Gavin Butters
A fraudster posed as a police officer in order to steal bank cards from pensioners before embarking on a £40,000 spending spree at Selfridges and the Trafford Centre. Gavin Butters formed part of a team of conmen who callously targeted a dozen vulnerable and elderly victims across the country, including a recently widowed man, forcing them to foot the bill for a luxury splurge at shops which also included John Lewis and Apple stores.
Described as the "leg man" of the operation, having visited the homes of the complainants in order to collect their debit cards after the scam had been set up over the phone, he also took nearly £10,000 of jewellery from one couple. This heartbreakingly saw one woman lose the wedding rings which belonged to her deceased parents.
Butters admitted a total of nine counts of fraud by false representation. Appearing in the dock wearing a grey Under Armour tracksuit and glasses, he was jailed for 33 months.
Alexander Sherwood
A rapist who fled from Rotherham to Liverpool in an attempt to escape justice was sentenced to almost two decades behind bars. Alexander Sherwood was jailed for a total of 19 years after being found guilty of four charges of rape, four of assault by penetration, two counts of assault by touching, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and causing a child to look at an image of a sexual nature.
Mark Brinton
A paedophile who subjected a child to years of sexual abuse has been jailed. Mark Brinton was locked up for 13 years after being found guilty of seven counts of sexual activity with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and four charges of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Awale Ahmed
A "party pack" of cocaine and MDMA found down a drug dealer's trousers has finally "come back to bite him" after he spent more than five years on the run. Awale Ahmed was caught with the illegal package back in 2019 after police spotted him "constantly placing his hands near his crotch" in his car.
Having subsequently failed to show up for his day in court, he moved from Merseyside to Birmingham, went to college, was married and then got divorced. Now "older and wiser" and with ambitions to "lead an honest life" as a bus driver, his past caught up with him and led him to prison.
Ahmed admitted possession of cocaine and MDMA with intent to supply and two counts of breaching a suspended sentence order. Appearing via video link at HMP Liverpool wearing a light blue t-shirt and sporting short dark hair and a beard, he was jailed for three-and-a-half years.
David Roddie
A drunken grandad squared off with police in a "Mexican stand off" at Switch Island as he attempted to recover a debt from a customer. David Roddie drove to Merseyside from his home in the West Midlands in order recover a sum of money which was supposedly owed in relation to his groundworking business, despite already being banned from the roads until 2027.
But numerous members of the public then called 999 after spotting him drinking alcohol while driving which led to a chase through the streets. This saw him travel into oncoming traffic and run red lights during a pursuit which was deemed so dangerous it had to be called off at one stage.
Roddie admitted dangerous driving, drink driving, driving while disqualified and driving without a licence. Appearing via video link from HMP Liverpool, he was locked up for eight months and banned from the roads for a further four years.
Francis Jordan
A three-time convicted drug dealer returned to his old ways within weeks of being released from prison. Francis Jordan was said to have resorted to selling cannabis over Instagram via the account "El Hachis L5" after being told he owed £20,000 to those higher up the chain.
This debt allegedly related to an earlier seizure of drugs by the police which resulted in his last spell behind bars. And this pressure from above apparently thwarted the dad-of-two's resolve to "lead a law abiding lifestyle" on the outside.
Jordan admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis and possession of criminal property. Appearing via video link from HMP Altcourse wearing a black coat and sporting short mousey brown hair, he replied "thank you, your honour" after being jailed for 10 months.
Rokas Norbutas
A man boarded a plane "with good intentions" but was arrested within weeks. Rokas Norbutas apparently came to the UK from his native Lithuania in order to hand out flyers but was instead put to work in a cannabis farm.
Police then caught him red-handed inside the house which had been transformed into a "commercial scale" production line. His clothing also gave away a big clue as to his crime, with the yellow hoodie he was shown wearing in his custody picture featuring an image of a cannabis leaf.
Norbutas, who was assisted by an interpreter during the hearing, admitted production of cannabis and abstracting electricity without authority. Appearing via video link wearing a grey prison issue jumper, he was jailed for a year.
Alan McGovern
A thug who smashed an unconscious workman's head against the pavement as he and his brothers brawled in the street has been jailed. Alan McGovern was caught on camera carrying out the sickening assault as violent scenes erupted outside a takeaway on Lower Breck Road, in Anfield.
The incident came the day after his brother Neil McGovern's daughter was allegedly the victim of an attempted abduction. They and a third sibling, Mark McGovern, were alleged to have wielded improvised weapons including metal poles and a wooden bat during the altercation.
While all three brothers and a fourth man, Michael Lawal, were ultimately cleared of a string of offences by a jury, having claimed to be acting in self-defence, Alan McGovern pleaded guilty to seriously assaulting one of the complainants who had been renovating a nearby pub. He was left with a stab wound to the chest and bleeding on the brain following the melee, having had his head repeatedly banged against the pavement while laying prone on the ground.
McGovern was acquitted of wounding with intent and unlawful wounding against one of the men and possession of an offensive weapon, namely a metal pole, in a public place, having previously admitted wounding with intent against the second man. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was locked up for six years.
Gregg Billingsley
A dad chatted to an elderly woman about the weather before committing an "utterly disgusting and disgraceful" crime. Gregg Billingsley filmed himself following pensioners down the street while exposing himself behind their backs "for his own titillation" during what a judge branded a "masturbatory fantasy".
His disturbing behaviour was revealed following a tip off from the USA concerning his use of AI to mock up vile images of child sexual exploitation. His victims, one of whom was so frail that she was shown using a walker in the clip, remain unidentified, having apparently been completely unaware that they were being targeted by the pervert.
Billingsley admitted two charges of outraging public decency, possession of indecent images of children, two counts of making indecent images, possession of a prohibited image of a child and possession of extreme pornographic images. Appearing suited in the dock with short grey hair, a beard and glasses, he stood with his head bowed as he was jailed for 16 months.
Shaun Walker
A dad went on a family holiday to Spain but failed to board the flight home as the net closed in on his drug trafficking operation. Shaun Walker distributed wholesale quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis across the country using the handle "Rock Killer" on encrypted communications platform EncroChat.
His illicit business proved so lucrative that he moaned to his contacts he had only taken £350,000 over the course of five months, having apparently been able to net such sums in a matter of weeks previously. After fleeing abroad following the takedown of the network by French police, he confessed "I was selling gear then and I'm selling gear now" when he was finally arrested years later.
Walker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis, possession of heroin with intent to supply and conspiracy to convert criminal property. Appearing via video link from HMP Exeter, he was jailed for 12 years.
Josh Jones
A thug who slashed a woman during a "revenge" attack at Reminisce Festival continued drinking and taking drugs after leaving his victim screaming in horror. Josh Jones left the wholly innocent stranger permanently scarred while swiping at another reveller with the "razor sharp" weapon in the crowded Legends Tent.
The mum suffered a "deep, gaping wound" which required 17 stitches as a result of the shocking outbreak of violence. Her assailant, who previously formed part of a gang who stabbed a man in a bookies, claims he armed himself in advance of attending the 90s pop and dance music festival for his own protection, having himself fallen victim to a "vicious assault".
Jones admitted unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Appearing in the dock wearing a khaki green Nike t-shirt, he nodded and gave a thumbs up as he was jailed for three years.
Jack Tyler
A dad was left so scared of his own son that he slept with a kitchen knife under his pillow before being stabbed 12 times. Jack Tyler repeatedly knifed his father in the chest, torso and legs at the family home in Moreton, Wirral, leaving him critically injured and requiring emergency surgery.
His mum also suffered black eyes and "unbearable hurt" having been headbutted during the "truly shocking" melee. The incident erupted after his parents intervened during a row between him and his girlfriend in the early hours.
Tyler admitted wounding with intent against his dad and assault occasioning actual bodily harm on his mum. An earlier charge of attempted murder was previously dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Appearing via video link from HMP Liverpool wearing a blue Montirex tracksuit, he was jailed for six years. Tyler, who was also handed a six-year restraining order and will be required to serve at least two thirds of this sentence behind bars before becoming eligible for release.
Reece Abbott
A teenager texted a friend "it'll be sweet" before a failed attempt to smuggle drugs into prison. Reece Abbott was caught with a package full of cocaine, cannabis and tobacco down his trousers while attempting to visit an inmate at HMP Liverpool.
The thwarted plot apparently came after a "male with a reputation" issued threats towards his grandma over an unpaid drug debt. The failed smuggler also stated during a message prior to his arrest: "If you don't hear from me, you know why."
Abbott admitted possession of cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply and breaching a suspended sentence order. Appearing in the dock wearing a black Berghaus tracksuit, he was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Mohammed Hamad
A barber who partied in nightclubs sent a beheading video to a WhatsApp group promoting Islamic State. Iraq-born Mohammed Hamad came to the UK illegally in 2016 and settled in Liverpool after he claimed he could not return home to Kurdistan as his life was in danger.
But, in June 2022, the now 30-year-old was added into a group chat made up of "trusted brothers," who shared Islamic State propaganda videos which depicted soldiers being executed and set on fire. He responded with messages of support to the other members of the group, before he posted two videos himself which "encouraged the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism".
Hamad pleaded guilty to two counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication under the Terrorism Act. He was jailed for four years and handed an additional year on licence.
Noor Bigzad
A man who raped a "vulnerable woman" and subjected her to a "prolonged period" of sexual abuse has been jailed for nine years. Noor Bigzad pleaded guilty to rape, assault by penetration, non-fatal strangulation and assault.
It came after the 35-year-old targeted a vulnerable woman who was on a night out in Liverpool city centre and took her back to an address in Kensington. He then left her with multiple injuries after sexually abusing her until she was able to escape when he fell asleep.