A man who strangled his mother and bludgeoned her partner to death with a hammer, a child rapist, drug gangs, and another male who murdered a cyclist during an attack with a knuckleduster, were among those given the longest jail sentences in 2020 in and near Lincolnshire.
Outside of England, the man who strangled former Lincoln student Grace Millane to death in New Zealand, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years jail time earlier this year. He was named as Jesse Kempson earlier this month after a New Zealand court order banning his identification was lifted.
Judges in and near the county also handed out prison sentences this year. Here’s a summary of court reports from 2020 covered on The Lincolnite, with sentences in descending order and of a minimum of 10 years.
Over 250 years in prison for drug gang
The drug gang have now all been sentenced. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Drug dealers involved in bringing vast amounts of cocaine and heroin into Lincolnshire were given lengthy jail sentences.
In total, 25 people were sentenced in connection to the major investigation. The total jail sentences imposed amounted to over 250 years.
Jordan West, Leslie Aytoun, Craig Owen, Lisa Michaelson, Trevor Willoughby and Dean Hall have all been jailed. | Photo: Humberside Police
An organised crime group operating in Grimsby were jailed for a combined total of over 56 years after a complex investigation into county lines drug supply and dealing.
Humberside Police said the ringleaders behind the drug operation were based in Merseyside and Grimsby.
Scott Hendry, Andres Vassou, Jamie Shaw, Reece Navarro and Lee Healey are all behind bars. | Photo: Humberside Police
A male computer software student who strangled his mother and bludgeoned her partner to death with a hammer was convicted of their murders and jailed for life.
Andrei-Mihai Simion-Munteanu, 22, left the bodies of Leela Monti, 51, and Robert Tully, 71, at his mother’s bungalow on Lincoln Road, Branston, after carrying out the killings.
He was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 32 years before he can be considered for parole.
A Scunthorpe child rapist, who was jailed for life, was caught when he took indecent pictures and uploaded them online.
David Hough, 56, of Derwent Road in Scunthorpe, maintained his innocence until the final day of the trial, forcing his three victims to relive the ordeal in court.
Oliver Wilson and Rebecca Holloway were found guilty of rape and sexual offences against children. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
A man and a woman from Lincolnshire who struck up a twisted relationship with each other were sentenced to a combined 48 years in prison for rape and sexual offences against children.
Oliver Wilson, 28, of Donington, Spalding was handed a prison sentence of 34-and-a-half years.
Rebecca Holloway, 26, of Rutland Street in Grimsby, was jailed for 13-and-a-half years.
A Grimsby man who raped a child for years was jailed for more than two decades.
Kenneth Leslie Mantle, 62, of Willingham Street, Grimsby was sentenced to 24 years in prison after a four-day trial and all the offences happened in North East Lincolnshire.
Ralph Stevenson will serve 22 years in prison. | Photo: Nottinghamshire Police
A 76-year-old pensioner could spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of rape and indecent assault on a young girl in the 1970s and 80s.
Ralph Stevenson was jailed for 22 years for repeatedly assaulting the girl at multiple addresses in the Nottingham area.
Ian Hamer will serve 22 years in prison for murdering his wife Joanne. | Photo: Humberside Police
Ian Hamer was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the murder of his wife Joanne Hamer, a local councillor in North Lincolnshire.
Ian Hamer, of Main Street, Worlaby, near Brigg, was convicted after the body of his wife Joanne, 48, a senior public health official for North Lincolnshire Council, was found at their home on May 6, 2019.
A man who was part of a group that brutally stabbed and beat up a man in the street in Grimsby has been jailed for 15 years.
The incident on Monday, October 14, 2019, left the victim seriously injured and an investigation was launched. Four days later (October 18), the victim was approached in the street again by Liam Milligan, who intimidated him by making threats of violence.
Henry Froggatt was sentenced to 14 years and 10 months in jail. | Photo: Humberside Police
A man described as a “vile rapist” has been jailed for over 14 years after viciously attacking and raping a woman in Grimsby.
The woman was walking home on Railway Street in Grimsby when Henry Froggatt grabbed her from behind and took her phone before pushing her onto the floor, assaulting her repeatedly and carrying out his attack.
Froggatt was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison, with an extra four years added on as he has been classed as a dangerous offender.
Nigel Wright was jailed for 14 years. | Photo: Hertfordshire Constabulary
A Lincolnshire farmer has been jailed for 14 years after contaminating baby food with metal as part of a £1.4 million bitcoin scheme where he tried blackmailing Tesco.
Father-of-two Nigel Wright, 45, from Market Rasen tried to extort £1.4 million from the supermarket chain between May 2018 and February 2020.
Lee Ives and Michael Bartholomew have each been jailed for 12 years. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Two men were each jailed for 12 years for attempting to stab an Alford home owner during an aggravated burglary, after they broke into the “wrong house”.
Lee Ives and Michael Bartholomew entered the property in Alford before the owner found them in the kitchen on December 10, 2017. They then began an assault, punching and stamping on him, whilst also attempting to stab him with a knife.
David Wright has been jailed for 12 years. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
David Wright was jailed for 12 years for a string of historical child sex offences including raping a young girl.
Wright, 79, lived in Bardney at the time of the offences, which date back to between the 1970s and 1980s, appeared at Lincoln Crown Court back in February.
Kevin Haigh was jailed 11 years. | Photo: Humberside Police
A Cleethorpes man was jailed for 11 years after attempting to kidnap a teenage girl in a ‘vicious attack’.
The attack happened on June 3 this year when Kevin Haigh approached the girl on Kings Road, close to the junction with Chichester Road. The court heard how he spoke to the teen before putting gaffer tape on her face.
The court heard that Nathan Booth, 30, was “dangerous”. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
A man convicted of raping a woman after repeatedly punching her during a sustained attack was jailed for 10 years.
Nathan Booth, described as a powerfully built man, inflicted a broken rib, chipped teeth, black eyes, and cuts and bruises to his victim after treating her “like a punch-bag” during an incident in October last year.
Christopher Webster was jailed for 10 years. | Photo: Nottinghamshire Police
A man who deliberately started a fire at his ex-partner’s house and also threatened a woman and her daughter with a knife was jailed for 10 years.
Christoper Webster, of Victoria Terrace in Newark, deliberately started a fire at his ex-partner’s house at around midday before making calls and sending messages to her and her family. He then left the property and went to Churchill Road in Newark, where he threatened a woman and her daughter with a knife before stealing the woman’s car.
Vincas Baltrusaitis, who was already serving a 14-year prison sentence for grievous bodily harm, was jailed for a further five-and-a-half years.
Baltrusaitis was deported back to Lithuania in 2017 with the condition that he could not return to the UK prior to December 2024 when his full prison sentence would have been served. He was arrested in Grimsby in April this year and admitted further offences of possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of false identity documents and entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.
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The 2024 Lincolnshire Business Excellence Awards are now open for nominations, seeking to spotlight outstanding businesses within the Greater Lincolnshire area.
Hosted by Stonebow Media, the publisher behind The Lincolnite and the MyLocal platform, this prestigious event is designed to honour the achievements of the regional business community.
Thanks to the headline sponsorship from the University of Lincoln Enterprise & Research department, the Lincolnshire Business Excellence Awards are a unique opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of local enterprises.
The awards are also sponsored by Ringrose Law, Duncan & Toplis, Sills & Betteridge and Pearson Hydraulics. A small number of sponsorship opportunities remain available. Contact [email protected] to discuss partnerships.
Businesses can nominate themselves across eleven awards categories:
The deadline for nominations is May 24, with the judges’ deliberation lunch set for May 29.The judging panel includes business experts and professionals from Lincolnshire and event sponsors.
The Lincolnshire Business Excellence Awards 2024 gala will take place at the Engine Shed on July 12, 2024.
Enhance profile & credibility: Securing an award or being shortlisted acts as a powerful endorsement, signaling trustworthiness to potential customers and helping to distinguish your business from competitors. Displaying the award on your communications can significantly boost your brand’s perception.
Insightful focus & feedback: The application process encourages deep reflection on your business strategy and direction, offering invaluable feedback and clarity, even for new ventures.
Team confidence boost: Recognition from the awards can significantly uplift your team’s morale, affirming the value and potential of your business in the eyes of industry experts.
Marketing & PR boost: Being associated with the awards, even as a nominee, can enhance brand visibility, providing ample content opportunities for social media and other marketing channels.
Networking opportunities: The awards connect you with local business leaders and experts, offering a platform to seek advice, share ideas, and foster future partnerships. The ceremony itself is an excellent occasion for networking with peers and celebrating mutual successes.
Potential to win: Entering offers a chance to win and gain all the associated benefits, but even without taking home a trophy, the process can yield significant advantages for your business.
A Lady Gaga loving kitten owned by a couple who run a charity for disabled pets featured on Channel 5’s The Pet Psychic.
Pet Psychic Beth Lee-Crowther comes to the aid of pet owners and in Tuesday night’s episode she met Cookie the kitten, a depressed camel, and looked at whether a dog can predict the future.