Some of the criminals jailed in Lincoln in October. Photo: Lincolnshire Police
A landmark case to jail the leader of a drugs network exploiting children into dealing crack cocaine and heroin and a man who posed as a teenage girl online to entice boys were among those jailed in Lincoln in September.
Here’s a summary of notable court reports from the last month:
Zakaria Mohammed
Zakaria Mohammed. Photo: West Midlands Police
Birmingham man Zakaria Mohammed was jailed for 14 years after admitting running a drugs supply chain and trafficking two boys and a girl, to deal on his behalf.
It’s the first time in UK legal history that child trafficking convictions have been secured under the Modern Slavery Act as part of a ‘county lines’ operation.
The case was brought forward following a joint investigation by Lincolnshire Police and West Midlands Police.
Read the full story here and watch the moment the child grooming dealer was caught by police here.
Ethan Brown
Ethan Brown has been sentenced to 10 years and two months in jail. Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Ethan Brown, 20, of Station Road, Waddington was jailed for 10 years and two months after being found guilty of posing as a teenage girl online to entice boys to send him sexual images and perform sex acts on themselves.
Brown, who was 16 at the time of the offences, used Facebook and other social media to target the boys, who were aged between eight and 17.
Working with the National Crime Agency, Lincolnshire Police identified 75 boys from across the UK over eight months.
A total of 25 prosecutions were brought against Brown, who was charged with Causing and Inciting Children to Child Sexual Exploitation and Possession of Indecent Images Of A Child.
Marcus Weeks and his younger brother Dalji Waldron were each jailed for four years and four months. Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Two sons of a Bermudan Government minister have been jailed for over four years each after Lincoln Crown Court heard how they ran their own drug dealing operation targeting university students in the city.
Marcus Weeks and his younger brother Dalji Waldron, whose father Michael Weeks is the Minister of Social Development and Sports in the Bermudan Government, ran what was described as “a mobile shop” selling cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis.
Weeks, 28, and Waldron, 23, both of Clarina Street, Lincoln, admitted charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis between August 17 2016 and September 22 2017. They also admitted production of cannabis on September 22 2017.
They were each jailed for four years and four months. Waldron was given a two month consecutive sentence for being in breach of a suspended jail sentence imposed for affray.
Two businessmen who carried out a VAT fraud have been jailed – Craig Williamson and Mark Creswell. Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Businessmen Craig Williamson and Mark Creswell were jailed for 18 months and a year respectively after carrying out a VAT fraud.
Williamson, 43, of Crowtrees Lane, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, admitted being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of £179,000 of VAT by submitting false VAT returns for Lincoln Car Sales between October 2008 and April 2014.
He also admitted fraudulent evasion of £13,700 of VAT by submitting false returns for Martin & Co, which was run by Mark Creswell, between June 2008 and July 2009.
Williamson also admitted fraudulently claiming £17,356 of tax credits over a 10 year period between 2005 and 2015 by failing to declare his true income.
Mark Alan Creswell, 52, of The Green, Ingham, admitted being knowingly concerned in the evasion of £148,000 of VAT by allowing the submission of false VAT returns between June 2008 and August 2014.
Creswell also admitted evading paying £16,581 of income tax between April 2009 and April 2014 by failing to declare his true income.
Lee Rousseau has been jailed for four years. Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Lee Rousseau, 48, of Turner Avenue in Lincoln, was jailed for four years after stealing a replica hand gun from the Museum of Lincolnshire Life.
Rousseau took the replica Luger pistol from a soldier mannequin in the World War One trenches display at the attraction off Burton Road. He ripped the arm from the mannequin and disappeared into the toilets where he removed the hand gun and walked off.
He admitted charges of theft, criminal damage and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence as a result of the incident on March 14 this year. He also admitted three charges of possession of a knife after being stopped by police 10 days earlier.
Stuart Parsley (Left) and Darren Parsley (Right) walked into the wrong takeaway.
A robber armed with an axe was jailed for seven and a half years after being overpowered by staff when he tried to hold up a Chinese takeaway in January.
Stuart Parsley, 47, of Francis Street, Lincoln, walked into Lucky takeaway on Burton Road and attacked staff with an axe, but Bee Wu Wong managed to parry the blow and fought him off and shouted for help.
Her husband Yashi Zheng ran downstairs to help, but Parsley’s cousin Darren Parsley entered the premises as well.
Stuart Parsley admitted attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon and was jailed for seven and a half years. Darren Parsley, 47, of St Rumbold’s Street in Lincoln, admitted affray and possession of an offensive weapon and was jailed for 18 months.
Michael Nelson, 24, whose address was given as c/o Riseholme Road in Lincoln has been jailed for 10 months after using a bottle to carry out a street attack.
Nelson and another man were involved in a confrontation with a group of men on Lincoln High Street on the night of Friday, August 24, with Nelson initially appearing to act as a peacemaker.
He then produced a beer bottle from his pocket and struck his victim Sean Clifford in the face causing his cheek to swell up.
Nelson admitted charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon arising from the incident. He was also given a consecutive one month jail sentence for breach of an earlier suspended jail sentence.
Spotted an error? Please notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Health bosses expect more areas of the UK to go into higher tiers in the coming weeks, including potentially “some areas of Lincolnshire”.
Assistant director of public health Tony McGinty said there were “no discussions” currently ongoing with government agencies about numbers in Lincolnshire.
However, he said numbers of COVID cases will continue to increase.
On Thursday, the total number across Greater Lincolnshire passed the 4,000 mark — nearly five times September’s figure of 820.
The county is currently on the lowest tier (medium), which means it is subject to the general measures of tackling COVID, such as the 10pm hospitality curfew and the rule of six.
A chart of Lincolnshire’s cases up to October 22.
However, Lincolnshire borders tier 3 lockdowns in South Yorkshire, while to the west Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire has reportedly escaped the fate of some of its neighbours in going up to the highest level of restrictions.
Mr McGinty said: “I believe that more areas of the country, including potentially some areas of Lincolnshire, may be asked to consider going up a tier, or we may decide that we simply need to go up to tier to get to get additional control measures in place.
“That will be happening all over the country over the coming weeks now.” It is understood this could happen by the end of November.
Mr McGinty said more “sensitive” local control measures were still the best way forward for now, but added “the time may come where that isn’t feasible anymore”.
“The longer that we can allow areas that can manage it to have more economic, social and well-being freedom, the better.
“We face a very long winter otherwise, if we go to the higher levels of restrictions earlier than we need to.”
Lincolnshire is tier 1 – medium – lockdown.
Although there is no published criteria for which areas move up and down a tier, it is understood to include those areas with a rate of more than 100-150 cases a week per 100,000, as well as how long they have been in that bracket.
According to the latest government data, Lincolnshire’s latest seven-day rate was 102.1 per 100,000. Meanwhile North East Lincolnshire was 229.4 and North Lincolnshire was 159.
At a district level, Lincoln (166.2), South Kesteven (112.3) and Boston (106.9) all sit within the criteria level.
The worst affected parts of the Greater Lincolnshire region include New Waltham (409.5) and the Great Coates and The Willows (482.5) areas in the Grimsby area.
Greater Lincolnshire is doing much better than its neighbours for COVID-19 infection rates but numbers are rising rapidly.
In Lincoln, the Wharf and University (337.7) and Boultham and New Boultham (323.5) areas have the highest infection rates in the most recent figures.
However, health bosses warn that the more local you get with figures, the more variation you might see on a week-to-week basis.
This number can also be hugely affected by the density of population, as well as smaller localised outbreaks in locations such as a schools, care homes or factories.
There have been 1,429 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Greater Lincolnshire this week.
The latest UK coronavirus dashboard figures for Friday showed 153 cases in Lincolnshire, 44 in North Lincolnshire and 73 in North East Lincolnshire.
In total there have been 4,286 cases for the month of October.
This week has also seen 25 deaths of Greater Lincolnshire residents reported by government, with eight of those confirmed to be in the region’s hospitals.
NHS figures for Friday reported three further deaths in hospitals, with two taking place at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust facilities and one at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals Trust facilities.
The government’s own death tally, which includes those both in and out of hospitals and those of residents in hospitals outside the county, showed five new deaths, including four in Lincolnshire and one in North Lincolnshire.
Nationally, cases increased by 20,530 to 830,998, while deaths jumped by 224 to 44,571.
A chart of Lincolnshire’s cases up to October 23.
Lincolnshire is currently still on the medium (tier 1) level for the the new three-tier lockdown system of COVID-19 risk, which means it has no extra restrictions on top of the nation-wide ones.
As of Friday, there are 88 patients with coronavirus at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire NHS Foundation Trust facilities.
Also, parents are being urged to make sure children follow the social distancing rules during half-term, to avoid outbreaks in schools upon their return.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire for Friday, October 23
8,878 cases (up 270)
5,755 in Lincolnshire (up 153)
1,804 in North Lincolnshire (up 44)
1,319 in North East Lincolnshire (up 73)
446 deaths (up five)
299 from Lincolnshire (up four)
94 from North Lincolnshire (up one)
43 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 292 hospital deaths (up three)
155 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up two)
6 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
130 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up one)
830,998 UK cases, 44,571 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
A further four schools and one nursery in Lincolnshire have positive cases of coronavirus on Friday.
Lincolnshire County Council said on October 23 that it is working with 88 schools with COVID-19 infections. It is also working with nine nurseries, with Sunflowers Nursery in Saxilby the latest on the list.
There are 14 schools in North East Lincolnshire with current active suspected or confirmed cases. There have been at least seven schools with cases in North Lincolnshire.
The latest additions to the county council’s list are Barnes Wallis Academy (Tattershall), Bourne Grammar School, Spalding Academy and Tedder County Primary School (Ashby de la Launde, Lincoln).
Hawthorn Tree School (Boston), Woodlands Academy (Spilsby), Springwell Alternative Academy (Grantham), St George’s Academy (Ruskington) and Little Learners Pre-School (Lincoln) are the schools currently closed, according to the council’s list.
When there is a positive result at a school it is considered an active case for 14 days. This period will start afresh if there is another positive case at the school. This is why some schools remain on the active case list longer than others.
Andy Fox, consultant in public health, said: “As of this Friday, Lincolnshire’s Health Protection Team is currently working with 88 schools that have had confirmed cases of coronavirus.
“All schools are taking action to limit the potential spread of the virus, with some pupils and staff self-isolating as a precaution where necessary.
“Like the rest of the country, Lincolnshire has seen case numbers rise in recent weeks, and an increasing number of schools affected.
“However, the majority of schools remain fully open, and those affected are working really well to limit both the risk of the virus spreading and the impact on the pupils’ education.”
Schools with current confirmed cases (new in bold at the top):
Barnes Wallis Academy, Tattershall
Bourne Grammar School
Spalding Academy
Tedder County Primary School, Ashby de la Launde, Lincoln
Lincoln College
Queen Elizabeth High School, Gainsborough
Hackthorn Primary School
Kesteven and Sleaford High School
Lincoln Castle Academy
Lincoln Carlton Academy
Bluecoat Meres Academy, Grantham
Kesteven and Grantham Girls School
Barrowby Primary School
Billingborough Primary School
The Priory Academy LSST
Priory Ruskin Academy, Grantham
Boston College
Hawthorn Tree School, Boston (closed)
Caistor Yarborough Academy
Haven High Academy, Boston
Malcolm Sargent Primary School, Stamford
St George’s Academy, Sleaford
St Peter and St Paul Academy, Lincoln
Kirkstone House School, Baston
Stamford Endowed Schools
Manor Leas Junior School, Lincoln
St Hugh’s Catholic Primary, Lincoln
Ermine Academy, Lincoln
St Giles Academy, Lincoln
Branston Community College Academy
Grantham College
Kelsey Primary School
Birchwood Junior School, Lincoln
Great Steeping Primary School, Spilsby
Walton Academy, Grantham
Woodlands Academy, Spilsby (closed)
Skegness Academy
Blyton Cum Laughton Primary School
Castle Wood Academy, Gainsborough
The King’s School, Grantham
Westgate Academy, Lincoln
William Farr School, Welton, Lincoln
Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn, Lincoln
Kisimul School Acacia Hall, Freisthorpe
Leslie Manser Primary, Lincoln
Lincoln St Christopher’s Special School
Long Sutton Primary School
Market Deeping Community Primary
Springwell Alternative Academy, Grantham (closed)
St Nicholas Primary, Boston
Community Learning in Partnership, Gainsborough
Grantham Preparatory International School
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Horncastle
St Michael’s Primary School, Thorpe on the Hill
University Academy Long Sutton
Denton Primary School, Grantham
Bridge House Independent School, Boston
Charles Read Academy, Grantham
De Aston School, Market Rasen
The Lancaster School, Lincoln
The St Sebastian Primary School, Grantham
Waddington All Saints Academy
Bourne Academy
Claypole Primary School
St George’s Academy, Ruskington (closed)
Swinderby All Saints Primary School
University Academy Holbeach
Carre’s Grammar School, Sleaford
Louth Academy
Boston Grammar School
Hartsholme Academy, Lincoln
Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School
Harlaxton Primary School, Grantham
Holbeach Primary Academy
Priory Pembroke Academy, Cherry Willingham
Little Learners Pre-School, Lincoln (closed)
The Deepings School
Spalding High School
Manor Farm Academy, North Hykeham
Scampton Primary School
Sutterton Fourfields Primary School, Boston
St Botolph’s Primary School, Sleaford
Fleet Wood Lane Primary School, Spalding
King Edward VI Academy, Spilsby
Kirkby on Bain Primary School
Spalding Parish School
The National Junior School, Grantham
William Alvey School, Sleaford
Public Health are also aware of the following nine nurseries with positive cases (new in bold at the top):
Sunflowers Nursery, Saxilby
Town and Country Kiddies Nursery, Louth
Seashells Nursery, Mablethorpe
Angels Childcare, Lincoln
Little Learners Nursery, Skegness
Nutwood Day Nursery, Lincoln
Clarence House Day Nursery, Grantham
Little Acorns Day Nursery, Boston
Elsaforde Nursery, Sleaford
North East Lincolnshire
According to the latest available data, there are 14 with current active suspected or confirmed cases in North East Lincolnshire.
Tollbar Academy
Grimsby Institute
Ormiston Maritime Academy
Cleethorpes Academy
Franklin College
Healing Science Academy
Humberston Academy
William Barcroft Junior School
Humberston CE Primary School
Signhills Academy
Havelock Academy
Weelsby Academy
There are also two further unnamed schools with active suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases.
In addition, there have also been seven pre-school/alternative settings with cases since the start of September.
North Lincolnshire
There have been at least seven schools, as well as John Leggott College in Scunthorpe, with cases in North Lincolnshire since term restarted.
However, North Lincolnshire Council said it was unable to provide data regarding schools in the region with coronavirus cases.
A road closure has been put in place for around 10 weeks as the Environment Agency starts work on Sincil Dyke outside Lincoln City Football Club’s LNER Stadium.
The works are part of the Environment Agency’s £6 million Lincoln flood defence project and its team will be on site until December. However, work will not take place on Lincoln City match days.
The works will involve a series of improvements to flood defences up to the Spencer Street footbridge.
The works will include strengthening the flood wall running outside the football stadium. | Photo: Environment Agency
This will include strengthening the flood wall running outside the football stadium, installing erosion protection, rock armour and steel sheet piling in specific locations along the river bank.
The scheme will help reduce the risk of flooding to local homes and businesses.
The works are part of the Environment Agency’s £6 million Lincoln flood defence project. | Photo: Environment Agency
The £6 million Lincoln Defences Project, led by the Environment Agency, began in June 2019 and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2021, subject to reasonable weather conditions.
More than 2km of riverside walls and three sluices will have been renovated including at Stamp End, as well as environmental improvements. This will generate economic benefits valued at almost £33 million.
Whatsapp
