These are the defendants from our region who were locked up over the past seven days
A carer who murdered her 90-year-old patient for the sake of £40, the man behind the EncroChat handle “WinterBarber” and a gang who locked a man in a hotel room and battered him were among the Merseyside criminals jailed over the past week. Also locked up was a drug dealer who fatally shot a man in the head.
Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that a serving prisoner controlled the supply of class A drugs across the country from inside his prison cell. Here are the faces of 11 defendants from our region who were imprisoned over the last seven days:
READ MORE: Nan sat in car waiting for pensioner to go to bed then committed unforgivable crimeREAD MORE: A priest called him a ‘man of humanity and kindness’ but a judge disagreed
Shay Walker
A drug dealer who shot a man in the head but was cleared of murder has been jailed. Shay Walker was acquitted of murdering Peter Hale – who died aged 50 on February 4 this year, four days after suffering a single gunshot wound inside his own home on Haslingden Close in Old Swan – following a trial.
The 26-year-old defendant was said to have told his victim “I have brought this for yous, you c**ts” as he produced a pistol and shot him dead over a £500 drug debt after the deceased and his sibling had apparently smoked crack cocaine which they had been given to sell. He admitted being the gunman, but claimed that he was “joking” and “didn’t think the gun was loaded.”
Walker was unanimously found not guilty of murder by a jury of six men and six women, as well as the lesser count of manslaughter and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, following six hours and three minutes of deliberations. The convicted drug dealer had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of ammunition without a certificate.
Mr Justice Freedman, who presided over Walker’s trial, imprisoned him for seven years and one month. This comprised of five years and four months for the firearms offences and 21 months for breaching a suspended sentence order imposed in July 2023 for possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply.
Jordan Foster and Joshua Bednarek
A gang locked another man in a hotel room and attacked him, breaking his eye socket and one of his teeth. Jordan Foster, Joshua Bednarek and Callum Higgins had encountered their victim on a night out and invited him back to their hotel before battering him and stealing his bank card and phone.
All three men pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and theft, with Foster pleading guilty to a further count of battery. He was sentenced to 35 months in prison, Bednarek was jailed for 32 months in prison and Higgins was handed a two-year imprisonment suspended for 18 months.
James O’Keefe and Kerry Russell
A Liverpool gang used vulnerable teenagers to sell drugs in Cheshire, West Mercia and Scotland. James O’Keefe controlled multiple drug lines from his prison cell at HMP Risley, roping in children to carry out risky drug-running operations on his behalf.
Kerry Russell and Ruby O’Keefe were also involved in the far-reaching drug network and the exploitation of children. All three pleaded guilty to modern day slavery offences and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
James O’Keefe also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class B drugs and possession of a prohibited item in a prison. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Russell was sentenced to four years and four months in prison. Ruby O’Keefe was sentenced to an eight months imprisonment suspended for a year.
Martin Taylor
A man who was caught throwing “missiles” at police has been jailed. Martin Taylor was imprisoned for two years and four months for his involvement in violent scenes in Southport in July.
Mark Nolan and Darren Herilhy
Two criminals who sold class A drugs and firearms have been jailed following a National Crime Agency investigation. Mark Nolan, 55, and Darren Herlihy, 38, operated on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat before it was taken down in 2020.
Nolan, who used the handles “RobustBronze” and “MasterCastle” was sentenced to 20 years at Liverpool Crown Court. Herlihy, who used the handle “JerryCoke” was jailed for 12 years.
Nolan acted as an agent and broker for another user, selling firearms on his behalf. He purchased a Tec-9 automatic pistol with between 200 and 400 rounds of ammunition, a Star 9 pistol with 50 rounds of ammunition and a Walther PPK with 50 rounds of ammunition then sold the weapons to his co-defendant.
Herlihy, who lived on a barge in Burscough, then supplied the guns onwards to other criminals. He also conspired to supply 2kg of heroin and 136kg of cannabis, while Nolan was involved in deals to supply at least 22.5kg of cocaine, 57kg of cannabis and 3kg of heroin.
Harris Vinten
A man has been jailed after his dog attacked a three-year-old girl and left her with serious facial injuries. Harris Vinten’s pit bull attacked the girl outside the Market Tavern Pub in Kirkby.
The incident left the girl with significant facial injuries that required treatment at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. The 32-year-old owner was arrested at the scene and subsequently pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control and caused injury.
Vinten was locked up for 16 months. He was also banned from owning dogs for four years.
Jayne Hill
A carer who hit her 90-year-old patient over the head with a metal flask before fatally suffocating her with a pillow has been jailed for life. Jayne Hill sat in her car smoking cigarettes outside Myra Thompson’s home on Bolde Way in Spital, Wirral, as she waited for the pensioner’s bedroom light to go out.
Then, under the cover of darkness, the 52-year-old entered the address and brutally murdered the elderly woman. It came after the killer, of Norwich Drive in Upton, had been caught red-handed stealing cash from the OAP, having previously pinched necklaces and a gold ring from other service users whom she had been entrusted to provide care for.
Hill, who wore a white bubble coat over a turquoise top and sported dyed red hair, previously admitted murder and four counts of theft and sat with her head bowed in the dock throughout today’s hearing. She showed no reaction as she has handed a life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22-and-a-half years.
Carl Murphy
A priest called a drug dealer a “man of humanity and kindness” but a judge disagreed. Carl Murphy trafficked huge quantities of cocaine and handled hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash while hiding behind the pseudonym “WinterBarber” on encrypted communications platform EncroChat.
Murphy admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and money laundering. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse wearing glasses and a black suit jacket over a white shirt and a tie, he was jailed for 10-and-a-half years.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Harris said: “[Your priest] described you as a man of humanity and kindness. Supplying drugs at the level you did is certainly not humane and kind. It was wholly selfish and driven by money.”
