UPDATE: |The criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week News

These are some of the defendants put behind bars in Greater Manchester this week

An acid attacker, bullying killers and a computer expert are amongst those who have been locked up this week in Greater Manchester.

Gilson Martins launched corrosive acid in the face of a teenager in ‘revenge’ He was jailed for over eight years.

Also behind bars were two bullying thugs, Daniel Vesey and Jason Trueman, who battered a man before he later collapsed in Tesco. He sadly died days later.

And a computer expert, Zak Coyne, who put his talents to criminal use to help create a ‘one-stop shop’ to allow cyber fraudsters to dupe innocent victims out of £100 million.

Prison terms are handed out to the most serious offenders. And Manchester Evening News reporters are on hand to cover the biggest serious cases.

Gilson Martins

A thug launched corrosive acid in the face of a 16-year-old boy in an ‘insidious’ revenge attack. Gilson Martins approached the lad in Stockport in March last year before demanding his coat off him. He then threw the substance into his face and fled.

Nearby, awaiting co-defendant Joanne Edwards, 45, picked him up and drove him from the scene on Brandon Road. In the hours after the attack, he boasted it had ‘gone down a treat’.

The 16-year-old went to a friend’s house to shower off the acid before going to hospital. He was left with a large chemical burn to his neck and face.

Days later, Martins then hunted down the 21-year-old son of Edwards, who had overheard his plans to attack the boy, during which he showed off the acid and exclaimed: “Imagine that on his skin? It’s going to melt his face off.”

Minshull Street Crown Court heard he kicked in the back door of his house whilst the man barricaded himself in his bedroom. Martins then made threats to stab him and throw acid on him before stating he would ‘carve his name into him’.

When 23-year-old Martins was finally caught up with, police found drugs, a balaclava and a bottle of hydrofluoric acid.

Jailing him, Recorder David Temkin KC said: “This is an extremely serious case resulting in an attack on a 16-year-old boy in revenge.”

Read the full story here: “Imagine that on his skin?”: Thug’s cruel boasts before throwing acid in face of teenager

Zak Coyne

A computer expert who put his talents to criminal use helped to create a ‘one-stop shop’ to allow cyber fraudsters to dupe innocent victims out of £100 million.

Zak Coyne, 24, was the co-creator of LabHost, a site which charged criminals a subscription fee to allow them to create realistic looking copies of websites for well known brands such as Amazon and Netflix, as well as 26 UK banks.

Customers would unwittingly have their confidential data stolen, believing they were accessing legitimate accounts on banking, commercial or government websites. LabHost allowed criminals to commit fraud on a ‘massive scale’, prosecutors said.

At least one million people originating from 91 countries across the world fell victim to the phishing scam. Confidential details would either be used for fraud or sold on to other criminals.

The actual financial loss to victims in the UK was £100 million, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

Sentencing, Judge Jenny Lester-Ashworth said: “It was one of the most professional and sophisticated websites in the world for committing online fraud.” She told Coyne: “You also enjoyed what you were doing and also by being immersed in the criminal underworld operating online.”

Coyne was arrested in the departures area at Manchester Airport in April last year. The dad-of-one from Huddersfield has now been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

Read the full story here: The computer genius behind £100million of misery… caught out at Manchester Airport’s departure lounge

Coleen Campbell

Coleen Campbell has been hauled back before the courts after she was caught on camera using a hammer in a shocking street attack fuelled by a love rivalry.

Her victim was set upon in the street in Ashton-under-Lyne by an armed gang. Campbell, 41, two other women, Hannah Derbyshire, 27, and Chloe Bamford, 30, and Simon Bowden, 38, were all involved in the attack.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard that it was motivated by a row over a love triangle. Derbyshire and their victim, a woman named Niamh Wasik, were both said to be in a relationship with the same person, a man named James Heaney.

Campbell is currently serving a 13 year prison sentence over the killing of her ex-husband Thomas Campbell. Campbell was tortured to death in his own home, after being pounced on by three men as he opened his front door in Mossley, Tameside, at about 11pm on July 2, 2022.

The 38-year-old, a convicted drug dealer, suffered horrendous injuries and was found dead the next day.

His ex-wife was found guilty of manslaughter and conspiring to rob following a trial in 2023. She provided information to the killers about his whereabouts and assisted with planning.

Two men were also convicted in connection with their roles with the robbery conspiracy and the killing, one for murder and another for manslaughter. A third man accused of murder is set to go on trial in the coming months.

This week Coleen Campbell was told that her role in the street attack, which happened days before Mr Campbell’s murder, would not extend her expected release date in May 2031.

Read the full story here: Coleen Campbell battered woman in love triangle street attack days before helping kill her ex-husband

Daniel Vesey and Jason Trueman

The family of a man who died after a brutal attack by two bullying thugs cheered and clapped as they were handed hefty jail terms.

Daniel Vesey and Jason Trueman wreaked a years-long campaign of violent terror on 52-year-old James Thorne before kicking him to death in his own home.

The two thugs made regular visits to Mr Thorne’s home in Wythenshawe over the course of ‘three or four years’, ‘terrorising’ him and his housemate into giving them money after they memorised when he received his benefits payments. Mr Thorne and his housemate, Graham Miller, were too intimidated to report the violence to the police.

On June 14 last year, the violence escalated when Mr Thorne refused to open the locked door for Vesey and Trueman, shouting through the letterbox at them to ‘f**k off’.

They returned a few hours later, using Mr Miller’s brother to ‘trick’ him into opening the door before entering the house and brutally attacking both men. Later that day, Mr Thorne collapsed in Tesco and tragically never regained consciousness.

Vesey and Trueman both pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and following a sentencing hearing on Monday, April 14, both men were jailed. Family and friends of Mr Thorne cheered ‘yes’ and clapped as they were taken to the cells.

Read the full story here: Screams of ‘yes’ and cheers in court as thugs who killed beloved man learn their fate

Azad Yaqub

A drug dealer who ‘thought he could outsmart the law’ failed and landed himself back in court. Azad Yaqub has been jailed after supplying heroin and cocaine using an encrypted chat platform.

A court heard how, in 2020, 41-year-old Yaqub was using two different encrypted devices where he was in conversation with a number of other people regarding the supply of drugs.

Encrypted chats are often used by Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) for their communications to supply drugs and weapons, as they try to go about their illicit dealings undetected, Greater Manchester Police said.

Initially, Yaqub was operating under the handle ‘blackelf’ from March to April 2020, before he changed his handle to ‘thanks.com’ between May and December 2020, the court heard.

But an investigation commenced and data extracted from both devices linked Yaqub to both the profiles. An examination of the devices revealed the criminal activities of him and his close associates relating to the supply of drugs.

Read the full story here: Man ‘thought he could outsmart the law’ in £650k heist, now he’s in jail for years

Sandra Ntonya

An ‘attention seeking narcissist’ who waged a vicious online campaign about about ‘wholly untrue’ allegations of rape against a rugby union star is behind bars having breached a restraining order.

Sandra Ntonya left former Sale Sharks and England star Marland Yarde’s career in tatters. On February 26 she avoided being locked up for stalking when she appeared at Manchester Crown Court.

A judge heard there was a ‘realistic prospect’ of rehabilitation and that an immediate sentence would see her young son ‘suffer’. The judge however branded the 44-year-old old an ‘attention seeking narcissist’. The court heard Ntonya was a sex worker.

A restraining order was imposed, banning Ntonya from contacting Mr Yarde or posting about him online. She was also ordered to complete a six-month mental health treatment programme; 15 days of rehabilitation activity; and 100 hours of unpaid work.

That same day, Ntonya shared previous private messages between her and Mr Yarde online and tagged him. She went on to post daily about Mr Yarde.

At one stage, she ‘made a comparison with Jimmy Savile’ and posted that the sentencing judge was a ‘liar’ and ‘in the pay of the police’.

This week, she was jailed as Judge John Potter said: “I have no doubt whatsoever that when I imposed the restraining order upon you, you were well aware of its terms. It is extremely concerning to see you continue to defame him and have contact with him despite the restraining order being in place.

“You continued to post on the internet private messages between you and the victim and you ensured anyone would view these posts by tagging him in them. You made reference to the court process. Some [posts] are uncomplimentary about me.

“You described me as a liar and in the pay of the police. I want to make it clear I placed your comments about me out of my mind. You caused significant harm to your victim and you have shown a contemptuous attitude to the court process.”

Ntonya, from Gorton, was jailed for two years and two months.

Read the full story here: She ruined a sport star’s life and called a judge a liar – now she’s behind bars

Sebastian Jones

A ‘coward’ punched a man to the ground before hitting him while he lay defenceless.

Sebastian Jones, 37, was caught on CCTV attacking his 41-year-old victim following a night out in Oldham town centre.

Greater Manchester Police says Jones launched a violent attack against his victim at around 4am on Monday, July 15 2024.

Footage captured the moment Jones left a nightclub, before heading towards the victim and punching him.

The force from the attack caused the victim to fall to the ground, where Jones continued to assault him.

Members of the public called police out to the scene, who discovered the victim on the floor with serious injuries to his head.

Emergency services administered first aid, before the victim left the scene and returned home. He attended hospital in a critical condition later that day.

GMP says it searched a property on Dickens Street, in Moorside, where officers had a warrant – but Jones was ‘actively evading police’.

A manhunt was launched to find him, before he was found seven days later in Bury. Jones was charged with Section 18 assault and remanded into custody.

He denied the allegation, but following a three-day trial in Manchester Crown Court back in January, Jones was found guilty. He was jailed for seven years.

Read the full story here: Thug punched man to the ground before continuing his cowardly attack

Harry Boulton

A man repeatedly punched his girlfriend in the head causing her to suffer a catastrophic stroke after she asked him about suspect messages on his phone.

Harry Boulton, 29, set upon his then-partner of four years when she asked him to explain messages which suggested he had been unfaithful.

During the attack, he punched her up to six times, including to the back of the head.

The force was such that the carotid artery at the back of her neck was dissected. The 30-year-old woman suffered a huge stroke which has left her with a speech disorder as well as her ability to walk and do basic tasks.

She now lives under the care of her family, has lost her managerial job, her flat, her car and her independence.

Boulton, of Sale, pleaded guilty to section 20 wounding without intent just days before the woman was due to give evidence. He initially claimed he acted in self defence, stating his partner was the ‘aggressor’ but changed his plea.

Read the full story here: She asked him about messages on his phone, then her life changed forever