Nottingham News to encourage tourists – February 2015

Comments in green are by Inchcock

Shanay Walker murder accused pleads not guilty

A woman accused of murdering her young niece and cruelty offences has denied all charges against her.

Kay-Ann Morris, 24, from Nottingham, is charged with killing Shanay Walker, who was found dead at a house in the city’s Bestwood Park area in July.

Ms Morris, of Beckhampton Road, is also accused of cruelty to Shanay, in 2012, along with the same charge against two other children, in 2011.

A second woman has also been charged with cruelty towards the girl.

Juanila Smikle, 53, of Easegill Court in Top Valley, Nottingham, has been charged with cruelty to Shanay and to four other children, dating back to 2011.

Both women appeared at Nottingham Crown Court earlier, and were remanded back into custody.

A trial date has been set for 15 April.

Horrendous!

Inspectors criticise Nottingham prison violence and poor conditions

Three wings of prison had to be locked down for three days because of ‘prisoner ill-discipline’, report reveals.

Emergency measures had to be taken to stop Nottingham prison from spinning out of control because of unrest among inmates last September, inspectors have revealed.

Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, said that a week before a snap inspection in September, three wings at the prison had been locked down for three days “because of what the governor described as prisoner ill-discipline”.

Get caught for the crime – do the time… no longer applies it seems.

Nottingham paramedics quitting as stress levels reach crisis point

It comes as stark statistics reveal that the number of paramedics resigning and taking days off work with stress has nearly doubled in the last four years.

A total of 87 paramedics have resigned their posts already this financial year, with 6,325 calendar days also taken off work with stress – a huge rise from 47 resignations and 3,151 days off in 2010/11.

And health experts say the workload in the service is just not sustainable.

Not glad to read this in my condition…hehehe

Crackdown on Nottingham’s problem with illegal cigarettes

Bootleg, counterfeit or smuggled cigarettes sold cheaply line the pockets of crooks.

And Jane Bailey, trading standards manager for Nottingham City Council, said: “There is an issue with counterfeit cigarettes in Nottingham and we are working with our partners within the police and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to tackle the problem. We would always urge anyone tempted to buy a packet of cheap cigarettes from a dubious source to think again.

A criminal activity surely brought about by the Governments over-taxation of the tobacco products?

Mansfield murderer Susan Edwards loses appeal

A woman who spun a web of lies over 15 years after she murdered her parents and buried them in their own back garden has lost her appeal against her 25-year minimum sentence.

Susan Edwards and her husband Christopher, killed her mother and father, Patricia and William Wycherley, in Mansfield in 1998.

They then spent the next 15 years living off more than £280,000 of the dead couple’s money and creating an ‘elaborate charade’ to make people believe they were still alive.

The pair were jailed for life at Nottingham Crown Court in June, after being found guilty of the murders, and were ordered to serve at least 25 years each behind bars.

They should not have been given an appeal surely?

Three men arrested after a city centre fight which led to the death of a man have been charged and are due to appear in court

Muhamad Adnan, 22, of Middleton Boulevard, Nottingham, Callum Levi Ibrahim, 22, of Belfry Way, Edwalton and Azeem Khan, 28, of no fixed address, will be at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.

The arrests were made following a fight in Thurland Street, just before 4am on Sunday morning, in which Joshua Bradley from Bulwell died as a result.

A 24-year-old man will appear at crown court, charged with the murder of Bulwell boxer Josh Bradley.

Richard Johnson, of Belton Sreet, Hyson Green, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday February 12.

Wearing a baggy plain white t-shirt, dark blue trousers, and with his hair in dreadlocks, he spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

Johnson, who turned 24 just two days ago, stared at his feet, as the judge read the charge.

I wonder if found guilty, will he be given a suitable sentence? Oh of course not, we don’t hang murderers any more do we… just give them a few years being fed and free of financial worries for them then let them out to kill again…

Nottingham ‘loner’ jailed for home-made grenade

A loner who lives with his parents has been jailed after police found a home-made grenade in his bedroom capable of exploding and injuring people.

Andrew Bird was sentenced to two years at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, February 11.

The device, containing more than 100 pieces of metal, was found when his home was searched by police investigating him for harassing a 21-year-old ex-girlfriend.

As a result jobless Bird was convicted of harassing her and given a suspended prison sentence.

Nasty piece of work – a suspended sentence – Huh!

Shoplifting mum fined after stealing twice from Sainsbury’s

A mother-of-two has been fined for shoplifting twice from the same supermarket.

Sabrina McLean, of Longmead Drive, Arnold, stole alcohol and food from Sainsbury’s in Arnold last month.

The 30-year-old pleaded guilty to theft at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court and was fined £75 with £60 costs.

Marlene Domrynski head of the Nottingham Police Retail Crime monitoring team said: ‘In January we had an increase of 65% in shoplifting in Nottingham, this is pushing our resources to the limits.’

It’s rife nowadays!

Shoplifter spared prison and given chance to reform

A former heroin user has been given a chance to reform despite shoplifting weeks after being released from prison.

Gareth Freestone, 34, stole two bottles of aftershave worth £50 from Wilkinson in the city centre on January 22.

He pleaded guilty to theft at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court yesterday asking for 18 previous shoplifting crimes to be taken into consideration and was given a 12-month community order, where he must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £150 costs. Freestone, of the YMCA in Shakespeare Street, was last jailed in November for a similar offence.

Defending, Emma Wyborn said he had previously used heroin but had been clean for five months. She said he stole the items to pay for “everyday things” as his benefits payments had been complicated by his time in jail.

Reformed?

Nottingham Serial Thief

A serial thief stole more than £1,000-worth of goods from shops over the course of four months – as well as stealing hundreds from his 87-year-old grandmother’s bank account.

David Brooks, of Manor Road in Eastwood, appeared at Nottingham Magistrate’s Court yesterday after admitting a total of 14 offences, including 11 thefts.

The court heard that the 34-year-old had stolen items such as perfume, joints of meat and a set of knives from shops in Eastwood and Giltbrook between September and January.

He had also stolen £380 from his grandmother’s account using her bank card, and admitted one count of fraud by false representation.

Brooks also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to surrender to court bail.

Sentencing him to 22 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, chairman of the bench Keith Burd said: “We’ve given you quite a good deal. I want you to be under no illusion that if you fail to comply this time, you will not get a forth chance and you will go to prison.”

Scum!

Nottingham murderer still on the run.

Convicted murderer Mark Stoner-Seed is still on the run more than a week after absconding from jail – despite a nationwide manhunt.

The criminal, who torched a Nottingham house, killing a teenage girl and severely burning another woman, has been missing since Friday, January 23.

He had been released on a temporary licence from a prison in South Gloucestershire, but failed to return.

The 52-year-old is originally from Bestwood Park, and killed 17-year-old Christina Bunning when he set fire to a house in Forest Fields.

I’ll keep me eye out for him…

Two thefts from pay and display machines have been reported, one in broad daylight, in The Park.

Thieves plundered a pay and display machine by the Ropewalk at 3.15pm on January 11 and a theft from a machine at the same address was reported at 10.07pm on February 9.

In the local area crime update from Nottinghamshire Police, it was reported that a “serious number” of tyres were slashed overnight in The Park between January 28 and 29.

A burglary, two thefts from vehicles and another theft were all reported.

It was also reported that a “serious number” of tyres were slashed overnight in The Park between January 28 and February 5th.

Four burglaries, two thefts from vehicles, one mugging, one stabbing an attempted rape and another theft were all reported.

And The Park is a posh area of Nottingham!