Court cases we have reported on in December

Drug kingpin

Terence Earle (Image: Merseyside Police)

THE sentencing date for a drug kingpin from St Helens whose gang ran an industrial-scale amphetamine lab in Scotland has been set.

Four members of the organised crime group (OCG) based in Merseyside and run by kingpin Terence Earle, 48, of Freckleton Road, West Park, are set to be sentenced next month following a National Crime Agency investigation.

The National Crime Agency said Earle used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to organise his criminality and enlisted the help of subordinates.

EncroChat messages showed that Earle also oversaw the trafficking of heroin and cocaine from Scotland to Merseyside, and in the opposite direction.

Earle are due to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on January 18, 2023.

Read the report here.

Dangerous scrambler riders

Matthew Doran and Owen Moran (Image: Merseyside Police)

POLICE released footage of three reckless scrambler bike riders who were arrested after a chase.

A video, captured from a camera inside a police car during a pursuit on October 11, 2020, shows three men failing to stop for police and then driving in a dangerous and reckless manner before they were arrested.

Roads Policing Officers pursued three of the riders who travelled in the wrong direction along Dentons Green Lane, going through several red traffic lights and weaving between cars.

The three bikes continued on to the A5300 where one of the riders - Owen Moran jumped from his motorbike and was detained by officers as he tried to flee the area.

Another bike continued onto the A562, where he attempted to travel the wrong way, he was blocked by officers and arrested.

The third rider abandoned his bike after it was successfully stung with a tyre deflation device and was found nearby hiding in the garden of a bungalow. All three bikes were seized by police.

Matthew Doran, 28, of Newfield Close, Crosby, was jailed for 14 months at Liverpool Crown Court after he admitted dangerous driving and drug driving. He was also banned from driving for two years.

Owen Moran, 23, of St Annes Street, Liverpool, was jailed for ten months after he admitted dangerous driving and drug driving. He was banned from driving for two years.

Victor Zhao, 18, of Swansea Close, Liverpool, was sent to a young offenders institute for four months after he admitted dangerous driving. He was banned from driving for two years.

Police released footage in December of the incident.

Watch the footage and read the full report here.

Taxi driver attacked

Darren Jacobs (Image: Merseyside Police)

A TAXI driver was attacked by two passengers in Newton-le-Willows after he refused to give them credit.

He was trapped in his car by them pulling his seatbelt tight around his neck while one tried to jab at his eyes with a screwdriver.

They eventually pulled him from the vehicle and kicked and punched him before he was able to flee the scene.

One of the attackers, drunken Darren Jacobs drove off in the car and after driving it erratically it crashed into a wall.

Jacobs, 35, of Tully Avenue, Newton-le-Willows, was jailed for seven and a half years.

He pleaded guilty to robbery, aggravated burglary and two shoplifting offences. He was banned from driving for eight years.

Read the full report here.