Man who accidentally shot himself, 'feeble' paedo and thug who smashed own Jag jailed

A thug who smashed up his own Jaguar, a "feeble" paedophile and a man who accidentally shot himself in the face were among the Merseyside criminals who were jailed over the past week.

Also locked up was a pensioner who downloaded a "massive collection" of illegal pornography from a website called "Torture Galaxy". Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that two firearms were discovered inside an abandoned car which was towed away by the police.

Here are the faces of 15 criminals from our region who were imprisoned over the last seven days:

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Darren D'Cruze

A "feeble" paedophile "hit rock bottom" and asked an undercover police officer: "Got any d*** pics bro?"

Darren D'Cruze's lewd chatroom messages led to the discovery of his stash of hundreds of indecent images, including films showing boys and girls aged as young as three being raped. He was also caught sharing such depraved materials with fellow perverts for a second time, having sent a vile video to a contact over WhatsApp.

D'Cruze admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, distributing indecent images of children, possession of indecent images, three counts of making indecent images and possession of extreme pornographic images. He bowed his head and closed his eyes as he was jailed for 30 months.

Russell Worgan

A drunk man deliberately barged into a woman in the middle of the street after she called him a "nonce".

Russell Worgan knocked over Rachel Knott after threatening "I'll walk straight through you". She suffered a fractured eye socket and four broken fingers as a result.

Worgan pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. He was jailed for 10 months.

Mark Lloyd

A drug dealing "cuckoo" took over a bedbound woman's house then threw a pan of boiling water at police when he was caught.

Mark Lloyd was a street dealer for part of a wider criminal organisation which had taken over the vulnerable woman's home in a criminal practice known as cuckooing. He was caught when undercover police officers saw him riding his bike to the house, where he put on a balaclava before heading inside.

Officers initially suspected he was a burglar, but he grabbed a pan of boiling water from the stove and hurled it at one PC. Lloyd pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and assaulting an emergency services worker and was handed 27 months in a young offenders' institute.

Anthony McCall

A man accidentally shot himself in the face then told police officers: "I don't know how I'm still alive boss."

Anthony McCall incredibly escaped with relatively minor injuries after discharging an antique pistol into his own mouth. A judge rejected his claims that he had been attempting to take his own life at the time, telling him that he had given an "implausible account".

McCall admitted possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a firearm when prohibited for life, possession of ammunition without a certificate and possession of ammunition when prohibited for life. He was jailed for five years and four months.

Jack Mather and Dillon Smith

A vicious gang of teenagers chased a man through St Helens town centre before repeatedly stabbing him while screaming racial slurs.

Jack Mather, Dillon Smith, and Harry Holcroft pursued Shantosh Surendra under the cover of darkness after following him from the Duke of Cambridge pub then violently attacked him. Mather and Holcroft punched, kicked and stamped on their victim while shouting racial slurs.

He also suffered numerous stab wounds during the "prolonged and persistent" attack, leaving him with a collapsed lung and "blood dripping down his back and arms". However, an investigation was unable to determine whether these injuries had been caused by Mather or Holcroft.

All three assailants pleaded guilty to wounding. Mather and Smith were handed 22 months, while Holcroft will be sentenced at a later date.

Steven Gallagher

A "lonely and frail" pensioner downloaded a "massive collection" of illegal pornography from a website called "Torture Galaxy".

Steven Gallagher, who was recently "given his last rites", hoarded nearly 10,000 images showing "brutal torture and extreme injuries" being inflicted to the private parts of performers. A judge yesterday told him that the contents of his hard drives were "as extreme as any imagery the court has ever come across".

Gallagher admitted possession of indecent images of children, two counts of making indecent images, possession of prohibited images of children and possession of extreme pornographic images. He was jailed for 14 months.

Jay Williams

A man smashed up his own Jaguar before threatening to shoot police officers with a fake gun and calling them "little maggots".

Jay Williams threatened nightclub staff with a metal bar before engaging in a nine-hour stand off with officers. It came after he began "hearing voices telling him that people were laughing at him".

Williams admitted making use of an imitation firearm with intent to resist arrest, making threats to kill and affray. Appearing via video link from prison, he puffed his cheeks out and nodded as he was jailed for four years.

Stephen Garrett

Two guns were discovered inside an abandoned car after it was towed away by the police.

Tens of thousands of pounds of class A drugs and more than £10,000 in cash was also recovered from inside the vehicle, which had been left in a state of disrepair on a residential street. Stephen Garrett's DNA was later discovered on both of the firearms, one of which was found hidden inside a Sainsbury's carrier bag in the boot.

Hewas unanimously convicted of two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon by a jury following a trial but cleared of possession of ammunition, while he admitted possession of ecstasy. Appearing via video to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for eight years.

Amy Portwood, Darren McAndrew and Philip Phythian

Two prison workers ended up in tears in the dock after becoming "infatuated" with serving inmates.

Amy Portwood and Adrienne Juniper smuggled drugs and other contraband into the jail where they were employed as carers, acting on behalf of convicted robbers Darren McAndrew and Philip Phythian. They also exchanged a string of "overtly sexual" texts and WhatsApp messages with their behind bars boyfriends, whose initials they allegedly had tattooed on their bodies.

McAndrew and Phythian admitted conveying prohibited articles into a prison and possession of a prohibited item in a prison. Appearing via video link to HMP Forest Bank, they were each handed a further three years and nine months behind bars.

Portwood and Juniper pleaded guilty to conveying prohibited articles into a prison and possession of heroin, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis resin and steroids with intent to supply. The former nodded and became tearful as she was locked up for 22 months.

Juniper meanwhile received as 22-month imprisonment suspended for two years, plus 160 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days. She burst into tears as she was spared an immediate jail term.

Mark Gardener and Kurtis Lamptey

A dad walked into a shop, asked a worker "how are we?" then pulled a weapon from his trousers.

Mark Gardener and Kurtis Lamptey stole cash, booze and cigarettes during a "cowardly" knifepoint robbery at a convenience store. One masked attacker also made a parting threat to burn the premises down.

Gardener and Lamptey both admitted robbery and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, they were jailed for 40 and 30 months respectively.

Paul Lawrinson

A paedophile met a boy on Grindr then raped him in his car and "rewarded" him with cash and vapes.

Paul Lawrinson twice met up with his victim in a park in order to sexually abuse him. His "life was changed" as a result of the sickening assaults he suffered.

Lawrinson admitted rape of a child under 13 and sexual assault of a child under 13. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for 64 months and handed an additional year on licence.

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