Here's our round-up of who was locked up in September at Bradford Crown Court 

  • A DRUG dealer caught with more than £170,000 of heroin and crack cocaine and a cache of weapons to defend the stash was jailed for six years.

The haul was seized when the police raided Jamie Bates’ home in Dirkhill Road, Great Horton, Bradford, on June 3 looking for goods raided when a nearby address was burgled.

The Class A drugs were found, along with scales, dealer bags and a cutting agent, when officers forced their way into a bedroom.

Bates, 46, had CCTV covering the entrance to the property, and two crowbars, a machete, a baseball bat and martial arts fighting sticks to hand, prosecutor Jo Shepherd said.

He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine, receiving stolen goods burgled from a neighbouring property between May 15 and 21, and simple possession of cannabis resin.

Miss Shepherd said that almost an entire kitchen was raided from a house undergoing renovation on Dirkhill Road. In all, the property stolen totalled more than £2,000.

A drink container left at the scene had Bates’ DNA on it and led the police to his door.

Almost all the items stolen in the burglary were found at his address, including kitchen units and a key safe.

When officers searching the house broke into a bedroom, they discovered the drugs stash and paraphernalia.

Most of the haul was low purity heroin found in a variety of bags and boxes. One pink Superdrug bag contained heroin worth £22,850, and another bag, £99,000 worth of the drug.

In all, the stash added up to almost five kilos of heroin worth around £170,000 and a further seizure of high purity crack cocaine. More than £1,000 in cash was also found.

  • A MAN who borrowed his friend’s car to make “easy money” drug dealing was jailed for two and a half years.

Imayat Kaleem was driving a grey Skoda while his passenger sold wraps of heroin and crack co-caine on the streets of Bradford.

Kaleem, 31, of Tamar Street, Little Horton, Bradford, pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply on February 20.

Prosecutor Allan Armbrister said that police were keeping observation at Perseverance Street in Wyke at 11.45am when they saw money changing hands for drugs.

Other officers were alerted and the Skoda was stopped a short time later on Little Horton Lane.

Kaleem was arrested with £150 on him. Another £200 was seized from the vehicle, along with 17 wraps of crack cocaine and 12 wraps of heroin with a total street value of about £500.

He had just one previous conviction, for simple possession of cannabis.

  • AN illegal immigrant caught red-handed tending a substantial 144 plant cannabis farm in Bradford was jailed for two years.

Kristjan Kalaj tried to flee as police with a search warrant were forcing their way into a house in Southfield Road, Little Horton, on August 4.

Three upstairs rooms at the rented property had been converted into a drug farm capable of producing thousands of pounds worth of skunk cannabis.

Kalaj, 29, an Albanian national who entered the country illegally, pleaded guilty to the production of cannabis.

Judge Richard Mansell QC said it was a substantial cannabis grow with plastic sheeting to block out the light and powerful heat lamps powered by electricity bypassed from the meter.

The 144 female plants were approaching maturity when the police raided the house.

Kalaj is at risk of deportation when he has served his sentence.

  • A VAN driver in a police pursuit narrowly missed an officer deploying a stinger to stop him.

Aaron Barnsley, who has a string of convictions for driving dangerously, sped off in a white Ford Connect because he was a disqualified driver.

He led the police on a high speed chase through Bingley town centre on to Cottingley New Road, “hurtling” through a red light and swerving to avoid a police vehicle attempting to block his way.

Barnsley forced the officer deploying the stinger device to jump clear as he sped past him.

He veered in the road as his punctured front tyre began to fly off, prosecutor Paul Nicholson said.

When the van came to a halt, Barnsley fled on foot, running into the side of a police car and heading across gardens before he was apprehended.

Barnsley, 35, of Broadstone Way, Holme Wood, Bradford, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on August 4 and to driving uninsured and while disqualified.

He was jailed for 18 months by Judge Richard Mansell QC who said he had one of the worse records for driving offences he had seen.

The court heard that Barnsley had 29 previous convictions for 107 offences. They included offences of taking without consent, dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking, dating back 20 years.

He was banned from driving for three years and nine months.

  • A HOUSEBREAKER who drove round the streets of Bradford at dead of night looking for a home to target was jailed for three years.

Leon Minott, who has offences of robbery and theft from vehicles on his lengthy criminal record, was sentenced on a video link to Leeds Prison after he was recalled on licence.

Minott, 30, of Lime Street, Great Horton, Bradford, was one of at least two burglars who spotted an insecure window at a house where a family was sleeping and got in to steal a jacket and bank cards.

He pleaded guilty to burgling the address on Westlands Grove, Allerton, Bradford, in the early hours of June 22, four counts of fraudulently using and attempting to use the bank cards, and dishonestly handling a laminator stolen in a burglary two days earlier.

Judge Richard Mansell QC said Minott’s assertion to a probation officer that he was led astray by his accomplice or accomplices was “nonsense.”

The offences were aggravated by his record of convictions, including a five-year sentence for robbery, and the fact that he was under the influence of drink and drugs at the time.

Judge Mansell made a deprivation order to seize the Seat Leon because it had been used to commit a crime.

Minott was banned from driving for 30 months.

  • A MAN caught driving an £18,000 Mercedes stolen in a house burglary was jailed for two years after the police helicopter tracked the car across Bradford.

Black balaclavas, gloves and a chisel were found in the vehicle which was bearing false number plates stuck on with double-sided tape.

Omar Powell, 21, of The Bank, Idle, Bradford, was sentenced on a video link to HMP Doncaster where he had been detained since his arrest.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly handling the white Mercedes-Benz C-Class on February 26, driving it while disqualified and having no insurance.

The car was stolen when a family home on West Wood Close, Apperley Bridge, was broken into early the previous day. Drawers had been opened in the kitchen and an iPad, £20 in cash and the vehicle keys taken.

Four suspects in face coverings were caught on CCTV cameras approaching neighbouring houses and cars but none could be identified.

At 2.20pm on February 26, staff working at a business premises in Victoria Road, Eccleshill, Bradford, saw a Mercedes rolling down a hill and being pushed into nearby Stewart Close.

The two males with the car were behaving suspiciously and one of the eye-witnesses photographed them sitting on a wall while another took the car number and alerted the police.

A blue Mitsubishi turned up bringing a can of fuel and the Mercedes was driven away, the court was told.

It was tracked by the police helicopter to Santa Monica Crescent in Idle when two males abandoned it and escaped along a footpath. Powell was apprehended and the key to the car, which was thrown away nearby, was found.

He had two previous convictions for six offences, including house burglary and dangerous driving.

Powell was banned from driving for two years.

  • A MAN was jailed for three years for the manslaughter of Paul McTasney.

Sean Holt, 31, of Vivien Road, Lower Grange, Bradford, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court after admitting the offence.

Mr McTasney, 38, died in hospital hours after suffering a serious head injury in the incident in Vivien Road in the early hours of May 9.

The court heard that Holt attacked Mr McTasney after an argument.

Judge Richard Mansell QC said he accepted that Holt had been trying to teach his victim “a lesson” and that the sentence reflected his culpability in the incident.

He had stayed at the scene and put Mr McTasney, also of Vivien Road, in the recovery position.

After the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Fiona Gaffney (Protective Services Crime), the Senior Investigating Officer in the case, said: “This was a tragic case for everyone involved and our sympathies remain with the family of Paul McTasney at this time.

“Paul died after a simple falling out that led to violence, and Holt now has some time in prison to reflect on the consequences of his actions.”

  • A DRUG dealer who crashed his car after leading the police on a 110mph pursuit was jailed for three years and ten months.

Niro James sped off in a VW Passat after he was stopped on the westbound M621 with a stash of Class A drugs in the car.

The police helicopter joined in the search for him after patrol vehicles chased him for four miles at speeds of up to 110mph along Beeston Ring Road, Whitehall Road, the A58 at Birkenshaw, Lower Wyke and Lightcliffe.

James then crashed his car and was seen from the air to make off in another vehicle, only to return to the accident scene to collect items from the wreckage.

He fled on foot but was spotted from the helicopter hiding in bushes on Old Cottage Close in Hipperholme.

Drugs were found discarded nearby and a search of James’ home uncovered another cache of drugs, along with cash, scales and phones with evidence of dealing on them.

The court heard that the total value of the drugs seized was £7,171.

James, 27, of Dispensary Walk, Halifax, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, cocaine, Ketamine and cannabis.

He also admitted driving dangerously on roads between the M621 and Hipperholme on August 26 last year, driving while disqualified and without insurance.

The court heard that he initially pulled over for the police but then accelerated away, doing 100mph in a 30 zone and running multiple red lights.

After four miles the pursuing police officers lost sight of the Passat and the police helicopter took over the chase.

James had five previous convictions for ten offences, including supplying cannabis.

Judge Jonathan Rose made a deprivation order on “what’s left of the car” and ordered the forfeiture of the drugs and the cash seized from James. He was banned from driving for four years and five months.

  • A COCAINE addict who headbutted a woman in the face and rained blows on her when she told him to leave her home because he was pestering her friends to order more drugs for him was jailed for 25 months.

Kevin Hopkins grabbed his victim, pinned her against the sofa and punched her repeatedly in the head and body, fracturing her nose and causing bruising and swelling to her left eye and cheek.

Hopkins, who has a history of drug and alcohol misuse and violent offending, turned up at the woman’s home at 10pm on February 8 when she was having a social gathering.

Prosecutor Kristian Cavanagh said she did not particularly want him at her address in Bradford but allowed him to join the party.

Trouble arose when he used an unsuspecting woman’s phone to try to order drugs and then attempted to involve another guest in the purchase of drugs.

His hostess told him to leave, saying: “How dare you come here to do that? I want you out.”

It was then that Hopkins, who had taken cocaine and downed large amounts of alcohol, carried out the sustained and repeated attack.

The woman was treated in hospital and returned to the accident and emergency department later where a CT scan detected her broken nose.

Hopkins, 36, who was staying at Beacon House, North Avenue, Manningham, Bradford, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Judge Jonathan Rose made a restraining order without limit of time preventing him from contacting his victim or going near her home.

  • AN ugly affray on a residential street led to a man being stabbed with a hunting knife.

Ryan Coyne was jailed for three years after attacking his victim in Woodlark Close, Clayton Heights, Bradford, at 7pm on July 14.

Coyne, 25, of Hendford Drive, Pollard Park, Bradford, had previous convictions for battery, robbery and possession of a bladed article.

A local man heard shouting in the street and witnessed a confrontation between Coyne and three other males, one of whom had a hammer and was wearing a face covering.

When the men ran at him, Coyne drew a large hunting knife from his waistband and chased after them.

One of the fleeing males tripped and fell and Coyne stabbed him once in the left thigh.

He was charged with Section 18 causing grievous bodily harm with intent but the Crown then accepted his guilty pleas to unlawful wounding, affray and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

Judge Richard Mansell QC told Coyne it was a cowardly attack.

The “ugly incident” in a residential street was witnessed by at least one person living close by.

Coyne was armed with a “wicked knife” and the offences were aggravated by his previous convictions for carrying weapons.

  • A CONVICTED paedophile is back behind bars after breaching the terms of a sexual harm prevention order three years after he was jailed for vile offences.

David Brown, 30, of Barnby Avenue, Lower Grange, Bradford, had previous convictions for possessing indecent images of children, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed for four years, ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life and the judge made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order without limit of time.

  • A DRUG dealer caught hiding a stash of heroin worth up to almost £240,000 in his untidy attic bedroom was jailed for six years.

Police found the haul, along with scales and cutting agents, when they broke into Afraz Sheikh’s locked room at his home in Nearcliffe Avenue, Bradford, on May 31, 2018.

The previous day, Sheikh and another man were stopped by the police in a black BMW on the southbound A168 near Dishforth, and £1,800 in cash and a bag of cannabis was seized.

When the police searched Sheikh’s bedroom, they discovered the high-purity heroin with a street value of up to almost £240,000.

Also seized was skunk cannabis and a block of cannabis, together worth up to £140, scales and a caffeine and paracetamol cutting agent.

Sheikh, 31, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and simple possession of cannabis.

Judge Jonathan Rose said a tragic aspect to the case was the death of Sheikh’s brother. A letter had been written to the court by his mother who was horrified by the idea of her son going to prison.

Judge Rose was so moved by the letter that he reduced the starting point for the sentence from nine years to eight. He then gave Sheikh 25 per cent credit for pleading guilty.

  • A “JEALOUS and controlling” man was jailed for three years for bombarding a woman with phone calls, threatening to publish intimate photos of her on social media and aggressively tailgating her car.

Jenson Oxford “intended to cause his victim maximum fear and distress” over a four-month period in which he smashed a bottle, called her insulting names, changed her Facebook profile picture and tore up concert tickets.

Oxford, 29, of Inkerman Street, Dudley Hill, Bradford, pleaded guilty to controlling behaviour and dangerous driving.

During a short relationship with his victim, he banged on the doors and windows at her home, sent her offensive and menacing messages and pestered her with 100 phone calls during one five-hour period.

Matters came to a head on April 23 when the woman and a female friend were driving on Huddersfield Road towards Halifax town centre.

Oxford tailgated their vehicle, violently braking in front of them and sounding his horn.

He threw a cigarette lighter at the car, causing £400 damage, and followed it to Halifax Police Station.

The women were crying in fear and the complainant was too frightened to return home afterwards.

Judge Richard Mansell QC said Oxford had been jealous and controlling during the short relationship.

He had constantly pestered the woman with phone calls and texts and threatened to publish intimate photos she had sent him on social media; sometimes referred to as “revenge porn.”

“It’s a despicable act to do that. The ultimate betrayal of trust between a man and a woman,” Judge Mansell said. “You clearly intended to cause her maximum fear and distress.”

Oxford was banned from driving for 27 months and his car was confiscated by the court.

A lifelong restraining order bans him from contacting the woman again.