A “dangerous” man found guilty of multiple sexual offences including rape, a man convicted of sexual charges against two victims, and another male who shot at a police officer were among those put behind bars in July.
There were also two notable cases close to the border in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, including a young man who started a fire in care accommodation. There was also a case in Cumbria involving a Lincolnshire driver who was jailed for two years.
In addition, former Lincoln College student Phoebe Adlard, 23, who was previously jailed for making threats to two lecturers, was recalled to prison after she admitted a further offence.
The Lincolnite’s court reporters cover the biggest cases heard in our region every day. Here’s a round up of signifiant cases resulting in prison sentences in July 2022:
Shaun Otter
Shaun Otter, 52, was jailed for 21 years. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Lincoln man Shaun Otter, 52, was found guilty of a string of sexual offences including rape and was jailed for 21 years. He must also serve an extended licence period of six years on his release from jail after a judge concluded he was “dangerous,” making a total sentence of 27 years.
*No custody image available from Lincolnshire Police
Peter Green, 90, was convicted of eight sexual charges against two victims and he was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment after dramatically protesting his innocence in court.
A dangerous man who shot at a police officer who interrupted a suspected drugs deal was jailed for 17 years and will be on extended licence of five years after his release from prison. Jamie Burke, 30, was cleared of attempted murder, but the jury reached a unanimous verdict of guilty for three firearms offences.
*No custody image available from Lincolnshire Police
The former head of music at a Lincolnshire church, and a local school, Peter Burness, was jailed for six years for the “heinous abuse” of an ex pupil and chorister fifty years ago.
Alcino De Oliveira, 29, was sentenced to three years and four months in jail for his involvement in an organised crime group (OCG) distributing Class A drugs across the communities of Scunthorpe.
Grimsby man Richard Garrison, 42, was jailed for two years and eight months when he was found guilty of robbery and possession of a bladed article after an incident at a fast food restaurant in the town.
Lucas Keane was jailed for two years. | Photo: Cumbria Constabulary
Lincolnshire drug-driver Lucas Keane, 25, was jailed for two years after crossing on the wrong side of a main trans-Pennine road before ploughing into a car driven by a postman who suffered a spinal fracture.
*Cambridgeshire Police did not have a custody image
A 53-year-old father and his 25-year-old daughter were sentenced in court for stealing more than £25,000 from their Wisbech-based employer.
Martyn Slender pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison. His daughter Bethany Slender pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud, but avoided jail. She was ordered to carry out 125 hours unpaid work, as well as paying £323 in compensation.
One of Lincoln’s most prolific shoplifters was jailed for committing a further 23 offences after being granted a suspended sentence for the same offences just nine days earlier. Nathan Lewis, 21, was given a 24-week custodial sentence.
Lewis was among the nine ‘most prolific shop thieves’ in Lincoln responsible for £9,000 of stolen goods since March who have now been convicted. Two avoided jail and one is awaiting sentencing, but the others were sentenced as follows:
Matthew Taylor, 32, saw a 12-week suspended sentence which he had been given for seven charges of theft in June invoked, and he is now in prison
Josie Mchale, 27, was given a custodial sentence of 12 weeks
Asha Hubbard, 29, now has a total custodial sentence of 26 weeks
Charlie Carter, 24, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison
Matthew Storr, 41, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison
*No custody image available from Lincolnshire Police
Adam Clover was jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for 17 months after the death of his fellow biker and friend Liam Addison.
Judge Simon Hirst told him that his “grossly excessive speed” represented a substantial risk of danger to pedestrians and other road users. However, the judge made it clear he was not sentencing Clover for causing the death of his friend or riding at the speeds reached by Mr Addison.
Waddington-based businessman Adil Hussain, 35, was jailed for six months after the speeding driver overtook ten vehicles including an unmarked police car, and then drove through a red light.
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A lying lorry driver who smuggled £3 million worth of heroin into the UK was caught out when he put a receipt for a bottle of whisky next to his hidden load of the Class A drug.
Lithuanian national Edmundas Bruzas, 56, of Arklow, County Wicklow in Ireland, has been jailed for over 12 years.
He said he knew nothing about the 60 tape-wrapped blocks of heroin in his cab when questioned by Border Force officers at the Port of Immingham on March 25, 2022, having arrived from Rotterdam.
Bruzas said he was carrying a load of strawberries for delivery to Ireland but that he was not present when the cargo was loaded.
He declared 200 cigarettes and a bottle of Grant’s Triple Wood Whisky he bought on an outbound ferry before collecting the strawberries.
Searching the heavy goods vehicle, Border Force officers noticed something wrong with part of the refrigeration unit and discovered the blocks of heroin weighing 30 kilos and next to them seven carrier bags in a concealed area.
Border Force referred the find to the National Crime Agency and an investigation was launched.
The heroin laid out. | Photo: National Crime Agency
In custody, Bruzas said he knew nothing about the drugs and answered questions in two separate interviews.
He admitted buying the alcohol and said he didn’t know what he’d done with the receipt. But when it was put to him that officers had found the receipt – showing his credit card details – for the whisky in a carrier bag next to the heroin he refused to answer any more questions.
Officers also discovered three mobile phones, a SIM card and a post-it note bearing the question: “Are Customs doing a check on you?”
Today (August 15), at Grimsby Crown Court Bruzas admitted smuggling the heroin and was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.
Drugs concealment. | Photo: National Crime Agency
NCA operations manager Carl Barrass said: “It was impossible for Bruzas not to know his cab had heroin in it. And when he realised we’d found his credit card receipt next to the drugs he had no option but to admit his guilt.
“Bruzas’s conviction removes a drugs smuggler from an organised crime group which has also lost a significant amount of money that would have been ploughed back into further offending.
“With partners such as Border Force and UK policing, the NCA leads the UK’s fight against Class A drugs which cause huge damage to our communities.”
Murdo Macmillan, Director of Border Force North, said: “These drugs destined for the UK would have fuelled addiction, violence and exploitation.
“This seizure and others like it, send a clear message to anyone who is considering smuggling illegal drugs into the country that we remain committed and prepared to tackle drug supply chains.
“The tireless professional efforts of Border Force officers prevent criminals like Edmundas Bruzas from smuggling drugs through the border. With our close working relationship with the NCA, we continue to detect and break supply chains.”
The manager of a hotel and restaurant in Market Rasen responded to their recent one star hygiene rating, promising she’ll be “getting a five star rating on our revisit shortly”.
The Advocate Arms Hotel on Queen Street was inspected on July 7 before the new one star rating was made public by the Food Standards Agency this week.
Inspectors deemed that improvement is necessary in both ‘hygienic food handling’ and the ‘cleanliness and condition of facilities and building’.
The rating report adds that major improvement is necessary in the ‘management of food safety’.
Katie Pywell, General Manager at the Advocate Arms Hotel, told The Lincolnite: “We’re very disappointed to receive this low hygiene rating at a recent visit.
“Excellent food hygiene standards are essential to our business which is clearly not reflected in this food hygiene score.
“There are however structural items that need to be and will be addressed as quickly was possible.
“However we feel that in our opinion these have been dealt with harshly and inconsistently.
“Our staff are trained to the highest possible standards on food hygiene regulations and understand the importance of cleanliness and record keeping.
“We would like to impress on our customers that the highest possible standards are maintained at all times at the Advocate and we look forward to getting a five star rating on our revisit shortly.”