Five St Helens court cases we have covered in March

Kadeem Hodgson

Kadeem Hodgson (Image: Merseyside Police)

A man who used a metal bar to smash the window of a car outside St Helens Hospital while his victims were inside the vehicle was jailed.

Kadeem Hodgson, 23, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on March 5 for the violent outburst that took place on the grounds of St Helens Hospital on December 27 last year.

The court heard that Hodgson attended the hospital site after being told of an argument a friend of his had been involved in with the victim.

The victim and his stepfather had got into a car when Hodgson launched his attack.

The victim suffered a “deep laceration” on his “lower leg”, caused "by the smashed glass or the weapon".

Hodgson, 23, of Longridge Avenue, Blackbrook, had pleaded guilty to affray and making threats with an offensive weapon, and was jailed for 28 months. 

Read the full report here.

Brian Fairhurst

Brian Fairhurst (Image: Merseyside Police)

A drunken lout who kicked a pregnant woman after punching her to the ground was jailed for seven years on March 15.

Brian Fairhurst knew his victim, who had nipped out in her pyjamas, was expecting a child but callously continued his attack and tried to steal her mobile phone.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Fairhurst and two other men, all intoxicated, approached her and her then boyfriend near a bus stop in Parr Stocks Road, St Helens on the evening of September 22, 2022.

A judge this afternoon ruled that 41-year-old Fairhurst, a father-of-five, who has a lengthy record including violence, is a dangerous offender.

Fairhurst, of Lee Street, Sutton, had been convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm and attempted robbery after a trial.

He admitted breaching his bail by failing to attend court.

Read the full report here.

Jennifer Morrison

Jennifer Morrison (Image: Lynda Roughley)

Morrison, who had been treasurer at Haydock Warriors, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on March 22 after stealing the sum from the club between 2018 and 2022.

Her thieving was made of hundreds of “dishonest withdrawals” from the club’s accounts.

The court heard she had taken steps to pay some of the money back, with £27,353.45 the “net” sum stolen from the club.

The court heard that the thefts had led to “harm” to the children who “missed out on the benefits” of being at the club that it had “gradually eroded trust in the community and caused teams to pull out”.

Morrison’s thieving came to light in December 2022, after chairman Stephen Howarth saw bank statements showing the irregular transactions.

Morrison, of Fosters Road, Haydock, who had pleaded guilty to theft, was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, due to her “very considerable mitigation” having stolen the money due to her addiction to gambling.

Read the full report here.

Shaun Price

Shaun Price (Image: Newsquest)

A  drink driver more than twice the legal limit who ran away after bonneting a biker, leaving her lying injured in the road, was sentenced.

Shaun Price was slammed by a judge who said he "did not give a hoot" that day and was "very fortunate not to have killed her".

The 35-year-old father was told his ‘disgraceful’ actions constituted ‘one of the worst examples of dangerous driving the court has seen for some time’.

But despite inflicting a "brush with death" on the biker and causing her "excruciating" injuries, he was spared being sent to prison.

Price appeared before Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of dangerous driving, drink-driving and failing to stop after an accident.

Price, of Conroy Way in Newton-le-Willows, was sentenced to 16 months in prison suspended for two years.

Read the full report here.

Jack Case

Jack Case (Image: Merseyside Police)

A young drug dealer who was stopped on the M62 and then found to be storing thousands of pounds worth of class A and B drugs after police raided his property was jailed.

Jack Case was described by a Crown Court judge as "bright enough to know what he was getting into".

The 24-year-old, of St Helens Road, Rainford, was travelling in a car with three other passengers along the M62 in Warrington when the vehicle was stopped by police and he was searched for drugs, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

A bag of cannabis was found, and he was arrested. When police raided Case's home address they discovered a cocktail of drugs all divided into packages, along with two sets of scales and £600 in cash.

Case was sentenced for intent to supply class A and class B drugs as well as ketamine and was served three and a half years in jail.

Read the full report here.