Not everyone who breaks the law goes to prison. In fact, these days, judges are keen to spare people from detention if possible due to chronic overcrowding in jails up and down the country.
Of course, that is just not an option for the worst offenders such as murderers, serious sex offenders, drug dealers and those caught with guns. Sentences for lesser crimes up to two years can be suspended which means the crook will not lose their freedom if they can stay out of trouble for a certain length of time.
Judges consider whether they present a risk to the public, have a record of compliance with previous court orders, have a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and whether they have ‘strong personal mitigation’. Another deciding factor can be when others will be negatively impacted by someone going to prison, such as their children.
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An alternative option is to sentence someone to a community order where the emphasis is on rehabilitation via support from the probation service. Below are some of the criminals we have covered this year who will be starting 2025 on thin ice. Their number one resolution will surely be to stay out of prison.
Farhad Ajaz
Farhat Ajaz outside Birmingham Crown Court
Farhad Ajaz failed to keep his dog on a lead in Bordesley Green leading to it attacking three people. The suspected XL Bully named Tyson got loose and mauled an 11-year-old girl before chasing down and biting two men who bravely tried to help.
Ajaz, aged 62, has previously served 25 years of a life sentence in prison for an undisclosed crime. He also harassed his ex partner including threatening to put her ‘in a grave’. However a court heard he has significant health problems and even suffered a heart attack on the way to hospital after the dog attacks took place.
Ajaz, from Bordesley Green, was spared immediate imprisonment due to his ill health. He was handed a two-year suspended sentence after admitting harassment, putting someone in fear of violence and three counts of being an owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control.
Karen Lynch
Karen Lynch and Julia Relph
Karen Lynch accidentally ran over and killed Julia Relph near Asda in Chelmsley Wood. The victim, aged 54, was disabled and riding her mobility scooter on the pavement at the time.
Lynch, aged 65, lost control of her Hyundai and clipped a Nissan in front of her before mounting the kerb and hitting the victim. She admitted a charge of causing death by careless driving but was sentenced to six and a half months suspended for 18 months.
Lynch was also banned from driving for 18 months. Judge Kerry Maylin concluded she put herself in an ‘unsafe position’ but added that her driving ‘only just crossed the threshold for careless driving’.
Larry Barnett senior and Andrea Simpkin
Andrea Simpkin and Larry Barnett (Snr) leave Birmingham Crown Court
(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Larry Barnett senior and Andrea Simpkin were part of a sophisticated plot to smuggle spice into prisons. They sprayed pieces of paper with the class B drug in their garden shed in Stechford, disguising them as fake legal letters to bypass prison security measures.
But Barnett’s heavily convicted robber son Larry Barnett junior was the real mastermind of the plot which he instigated after ‘getting into trouble’ while in custody. A court also heard Barnett senior, 61, and Simpkin, 53, had significant health problems and were unlikely to offend again.
All three admitting conspiracy to convey drugs into a prison. Barnett senior was sentenced to 19 months suspended for two years while Simpkin was sentenced to two years suspended for the same period of time. Barnett junior, aged 38, was given an extra two years and six months to run consecutive to a 20-year term he was handed in 2020 for robbery offences.
Clare Wedgebury
Clare Wedgbury
(Image: Birmingham Live)
Prolific shoplifter Clare Wedgebury stole huge hauls of alcohol from supermarkets as she ‘made a nuisance of herself’ in Great Yarmouth. The 36-year-old from Sheldon, Birmingham, targeted the likes of Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco and Asda before returning to the Midlands and striking in B&M.
She blamed the first series of incidents on an ex partner and claimed she was ‘rescued’ by a new boyfriend. Wedgebury admitted 13 offences of theft from a shop, a charge of obstructing an officer and making off without payment as well as two counts of non-dwelling burglary.
She was pregnant at the time of her sentencing in October when she was handed an 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activity. The sentence did not contain any form of punishment after Judge Kerry Maylin concluded Wedgbury, who has drink and drug addictions, had ‘enough to deal with’.
Paul Marriner
Paul Marriner leaving Birmingham Crown Court
(Image: Birmingham Mail / Live)
Thief Paul Marriner claimed he no longer needed to steal anymore because his benefits had started. The 39-year-old was part of a group trying to bag a large haul of cable from the derelict former HSBC building in Edgbaston.
He was caught with a knuckleduster and Stanley blade on him and was also in breach of a community order which he had barely complied with. But his barrister argued Marriner’s partner and her children would be negatively impacted if he went to jail.
He also submitted that his client was ‘desperate’ at the time of the theft but two weeks later he started to receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP) because he was a carer for his girlfriend. Marriner, from Wednesbury, admitted burglary, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article.
He was sentenced to ten months suspended for 18 months including 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 200 hours of unpaid work
Andrew Bell
Andrew Bell
(Image: Birmingham Mail / Live)
Andrew Bell carried out a £70,000 income tax fraud which he claimed ‘everyone else was doing’ at Jaguar Land Rover where he worked. The 56-year-old, who described the scheme as ‘Tommy’s Tax’, registered for self assessment with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and claimed business expenses when he was not eligible to do either.
Father-of-five Bell, from Solihull, admitted being knowingly concerned in the evasion of income tax. But he was spared jail after Judge Laura Robson concluded imprisonment would have a ‘devastating impact’ on his family.
She added: “I also take the view what society needs more than anything from you is for you to repay the money you defrauded from the public purse.”
Bell was sentenced to 22 months, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work.
Jay Somers
Leo Somers
(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Jay Somers broke 64-year-old David Shaw’s leg outside The Fighting Cocks pub in Moseley. He claimed the victim and his friend ‘disrespected’ his girlfriend outside of a supermarket nearby. Both men refuted the allegation.
The 45-year-old then ran after Mr Shaw, who was pushing his bike, and shoved him over before proceeding to punch his friend in the face. Mr Shaw suffered a fractured femur and was left bedbound for weeks.
Somers, from Sparkbrook, admitted causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) and assault. He had committed 35 previous offences including robbery but Recorder Simon Hughes stated it was ‘significant’ he had gone ten years between his last crime and the attack in Moseley.
He concluded Somers had a ‘realistic prospect of rehabilitation’ and sentenced him to 16 months suspended for 18 months. The order included completing 25 days of rehabilitation activity, a thinking skills programme and paying Mr Shaw £250 compensation.