Drugs gang
collectively sentenced to over 50 years in prison
THE gang have been
supplying drugs between Liverpool and Brighton, but have now been
sentenced to spend 53 years and 2 months behind bars.
The final 5 of the group have been sentenced on Monday, 1 December
2014 at Hove Crown Court. The head of the gang Kevin Tynan, 36, from
Liverpool and his co-conspirator Kirk Blake, 25, also from
Liverpool, were sentenced to 14 years and 13 years respectively,
after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, heroin
and crack cocaine.
Tynan was also given a serious and organised crime prevention order
which will run from his release date for another 5 years. This order
is designed to control certain aspects of repeat offending such as
only being allowed to have a certain type of phone, registered with
Police and will have to notify Police of hiring of any cars within
48 hours.
Both Tynan and Blake were given credit in their sentences for their
early guilty pleas.
On 1 December 2014, Murrell Kinch, 55, from Brighton also pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, heroin and crack
cocaine. He was sentenced to 2 years, suspended.
Francis Hughes, Blake's aunt, 66, of Richard Kelly Drive, Liverpool
pleaded guilty to money laundering and has been given four months
suspended.
Michael Hancock, 21, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty to money
laundering and perverting the course of justice and was handed a 1
year suspended.
In April 2014, the 1st of the gang were sent to prison. Gordon Lecheminant, 45, of Stonery Road, Brighton was sentenced to five
years four months for possession with intent to supply class A drugs
both heroin and crack cocaine.
Nicole Boarer, 45, also of Stonery Road, Brighton was also sent to
prison for 4 years and 4 months, for possession with intent to
supply both heroin and crack cocaine.
Another 10 men and women,
living in both Cities either acted as runners or laundered money for
the gang and were also sentenced in November 2014.
Tyler Boarer, who was the criminal connection between the main drug
dealers in Liverpool to Brighton and the son of Nicole Boarer, was
sent to prison for 8 years after appearing at Hove Crown Court, on
Friday, 14 November 2014.
The 22 year old from Downland Court in Portslade pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine for which he was given
7 years and 6 months. He was given another 6 months for biting a
Police Officer when they tried to arrest him.
The runners in the drugs ring, John Dykes, Shawn Dempsey and William
Hardaker were also sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to
supplying crack cocaine and heroin.
Dempsey, 21, from Liverpool, was given 4 and 6 months. Also Dykes,
aged 20, from Liverpool, was given 4 years. Hardaker was given 2
years, suspended sentence.
Yasmine Wheeler, 33, of Hallett Road, Brighton pleaded guilty to
money laundering and was given 4 months suspended for 4 months and
given 8 months suspended sentence for the production of cannabis.
Guiseppe Baker, 18, of Romsey Close, Brighton pleaded guilty to 18
months suspended for supplying class A drugs and given 6 months for
causing alarm or distress after using racially aggravated language
and common assault.
4 women were also sentenced for their part in the gang at Hove Crown
Court, on Thursday, 11 November 2014.
Nikki Calladine, 20, of Albion Hill in Brighton was in a
relationship with one of the main dealers and main players in the
drugs ring, Kirk Blake, and was convicted for conspiracy to supply
class A drugs. She was given 2 years in prison, suspended for 2
years.
3 other women were also sentenced to money laundering. Lauren
Healey, 28, from Liverpool, Stephanie Blair, 34, from Liverpool and
Carly Williams, 19, also from Liverpool. Healey was given 4 months
suspended for a year, Blair was also given 4 months also suspended
for a year and Williams was given 3 months suspended for a year.
The judge gave Crown Court commendations to DS Julian Deans, DC Mark Pinder and Andy Boyd, a drugs development support officer, for their
work on the case.
Detective Sergeant Julian Deans, who ran the police operation into
cracking the drugs ring between Liverpool and Brighton, said:-
"Tynan was the ring leader of this gang and was the key player in
bringing thousands of pounds worth of class A drugs into our City.
This operation, named Operation Woburn, was led by the Organised
Crime Investigation Team at Brighton and ran for nearly a year and
these sentences signal the end of this specific operation. It
focused entirely on this 1 man and his dealing network. He and all
his criminal connections have all pleaded guilty to their offences
as they knew the strength of the evidence against them. The
significant sentences send a clear and compelling message to anyone
who wishes to attempt to sell drugs in this City. I am very pleased
with the result and want thank the Crown Prosecution Service who
have been unswerving in their support in what has been an operation
of very are serious offences. We've also worked hard with our
colleagues in Merseyside Police to track down this group and arrest
them. They have bought drugs into this City and we will not allow
that to happen. The length of these sentences, 14 years for Tynan
and 13 years for Blake, goes to show how seriously this type of
crime is treated. I have the task of investigating drugs related
deaths, I am the one having to tell mothers and fathers that their
son or daughter is dead. This merely doubles my resolve to hunt down
and arrest every dealer that we can find. If you are dealing drugs
in this City, then you need to know that we will catch you and will
deal with you robustly. Lastly I want to recognise the
professionalism of my team and dedication to bringing offenders like
these to justice. The team is as committed and passionate about
police work as I am. Complex cases like this do not just appear
before the court, it takes dedication and commitment and this team
has it in abundance. We will remain unstinting in our pursuit of
drug dealers in this City." |
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Bellerive and
SFX schools to be refurbished
CHRISTMAS revellers in
Merseyside are being reminded to be on their best behaviour during
office party season or risk having everything captured on camera.
More Police Officers patrolling the County's Town Centres will be
using state of the art body cameras, than ever before thanks to the
purchase of 500 of them. The cameras record in High Definition and
have proved effective in being an extra pair of eyes and ears for
officers dealing with challenging situations such as alcohol fuelled
disorder and domestic violence. The cameras can obtain evidence of
incidents such as a fight taking place, people being abusive to
officers or other members of the public, a crime scene and a
victim's injuries suffered during an assault. The cameras can be
clearly seen on officers clothing and there is already evidence that
they are diffusing potentially violent or confrontational situations
before they escalate.
Superintendent Mark Wiggins, who has responsibility for Liverpool
City Centre, said the body cams were fast becoming a vital tool for
officers keeping Merseyside's night time economy areas safe.
Superintendent Mark Wiggins said that:- "With office party
season in full swing across Merseyside, we want people to be able to
go out and have an enjoyable time in a safe environment across
Merseyside, but ensure they act responsibly while doing so.
Liverpool is already one of the safest Cities in the Country and has
achieved national recognition of this with purple flag status.
However, inevitably a minority of people will let themselves down by
drinking too much and getting involved in an anti social or violent
incident. This can range from someone urinating in the street to a
serious assault but either way, it is not the sort of behaviour that
late night shoppers, shop staff, bar workers or other, law abiding
members of the public want to see. Our increased use of body cams
will help us tackle these problems. We make it clear to people when
officers are filming them and we have found already that some people
start to behave themselves when we point this out to them. This
means we are doing everything possible to avoid confrontation and to
calm potentially volatile situations without having to arrest people
unless it is necessary. Additionally some people think they can
dispute their poor behaviour, but when they are shown the footage
from the body cams once in custody, they generally admit the
offence. It also deters the small minority of people who try to make
malicious complaints against the police as officers' behaviour is
captured in full as well as the offender's. This all adds up to the
Police dealing with incidents more quickly and effectively, allowing
our resources to remain on the streets, which is where the public
want us, reducing confrontation and gathering the best possible
evidence against those who do need to be dealt with by the courts."
Merseyside's Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy said:- "Body
worn cameras are rapidly becoming a key part of frontline Policing.
By securing this funding, the Force are now equipped with 500 extra
cameras that will be used throughout the region during the busy
Christmas period. Not only do they provide a deterrent against
abusive and anti social behaviour, they are also a vital tool in
helping the Police gather evidence and secure guilty pleas and
convictions. The reaction of some individuals on seeing their
behaviour on tape after the incident, often when they have sobered
up, can be astonishing. Using these cameras speeds up justice, puts
offenders behind bars more quickly and protects potential victims.
It also demonstrates the dangerous and difficult job Merseyside
Police officers day in day out serving the public."
Officers wearing the body
cams this Christmas include:-
► City Plan Officers patrolling Liverpool
City Centre.
► Neighbourhood Response.
► Roads Policing Unit.
► Matrix Serious Organised Crime (MSOC).
► Dog patrols and Mounted Section.
Also did you know that:-
► All officers using them have received extensive training in how and
when to use them.
► Officers wear the cameras overtly on their body
armour and must point out to people that they are being filmed.
► The footage is impossible to edit by the wearer and downloads
immediately to a secure and restricted network for evidential
purposes. In doing so, the individual camera's memory is cleared and
the camera can be used again.
► For more information about the technology itself visit:-
revealmedia.com.
► The 500 cameras have been bought using funding from the Home Office
and Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner.
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