Sentenced in October: Criminals who appeared before the courts over past month

Jonathan Ogden

A VIOLENT robber tried to smash his way into a barricaded bedroom using a machete as his terrified victims hid inside.

Following a string of offences, including two house robberies committed on the same night 28-year-old Jonathan Ogden fled to Spain but was arrested when he returned to the UK in July.

Jonathan Ogden

At Bolton Crown Court he stood in the dock with arms folded, staring straight ahead, but wiped away tears as Judge Timothy Stead sentenced him to 10 years and eight months in jail with a further three years on licence.

Ogden, of Grasmere Street, Leigh had pleaded guilty to burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, making threats with an axe and two counts of robbery.

READ > Violent robber smashed barricaded bedroom door with a machete

Mark Lamb

AN employer who provided false time sheets to help cover the tracks of a man involved in a shooting outside a car wash in Wigan has been jailed.

Mark Lamb, 48, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

Lamb is formerly of Wigan but was residing in Cyprus at the time of his arrest.

On 30 March 2015, a 31-year-old man was stood outside a car wash on Bolton Road in Ashton-in-Makerfield, when an unknown gunman began firing at him from across the busy main road.

Upon hearing the shots being fired, the man was able to flee into the office of the car wash but not before he was hit three times in the abdomen, wrist and groin.

A subsequent investigation carried out by Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) Major Incident Team confirmed that a man named John Kent had driven by the location in his Peugeot van repeatedly before the shooting took place in order to carry out surveillance on the victim.

He then met with the gunman and another associate, Jacob Harrison, who had travelled to the area together in a stolen Seat Ibiza.

Mark Lamb

Kent and the two other men then drove to the scene in convoy before fleeing the scene together after the shooting.

As detectives were piecing together the full details of what happened, they spoke with Mark Lamb, who employed John Kent as asbestos remover.

READ > Employer provided false time sheets to cover tracks of man involved in car wash shooting

After being questioned by police about why his employee had been seen in his work van close to the scene of the shooting, Lamb produced false time sheets and documents in an attempt to provide a fake alibi.

Stephen Brocklehurst

A MAN stabbed a friend he was staying with to death in Leigh.

Stephen Brocklehurst, 49, of Billinge Road, Wigan, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square to life imprisonment after being found guilty of the murder of 32-year-old Phil Rooney.

He will serve a minimum of 12 years before being considered for early release.

During the course of a three-week trial, the jury heard on Saturday, February 23, Brocklehurst had been drinking and playing snooker in a pub with Mr Rooney before they got into a verbal confrontation.

Stephen Brocklehurst

The pair were heard arguing loudly outside the pub before going their separate ways.

A short time later, the men met again and made their way back to Mr Rooney’s home on Platt Street.

Once inside the property, the argument continued and witnesses confirmed that the confrontation was so loud that it could be heard on the street.

READ > Man who stabbed friend to death after pub row given life sentence

Suddenly the confrontation went quiet and around 10 – 20 minutes later, Brocklehurst ran out of the property shouting for help as Phil lay fatally injured inside the house.

Despite the best efforts of the paramedics who subsequently attended, Phil was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post mortem examination confirmed Mr Rooney died from a stab wound to the chest.

Death of Joanne Bailey-Collinge

TWO men whose reckless driving caused the death of a mum-of-five were jailed.

Joseph Pownall, 27, of Pennine Way, Golborne and Lewis Fisher, 21, of Poolstock Lane, Wigan were sentenced to 12 years and 11 years respectively at Manchester Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday.

A third man, Steven Fairclough, 42, of Elm Avenue, Golborne was sentenced to 12 months in custody suspended for 12 months for attempting to cover-up Pownall’s involvement in the crash.

Pownall parked a grey Volkswagen Amarok outside the Bryn Hall Public House on Bolton Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield just after 5.30pm on Saturday, April 20.

Fisher’s silver Mercedes parked nearby on Bolton Road a few minutes later, where a man got out the vehicle and threw an object at Pownall’s Volkswagen, smashing the nearside window before driving off.

Joseph Pownall

Lewis Fisher

Pownall left the pub and pursued Fisher’s Mercedes, with both vehicles travelling in excess of 75mph in a 30mph zone along Bickershaw Lane.

On a left hand turn near the junction with Brown Street, both cars strayed into the opposing carriageway, where Fisher’s Mercedes collided head-on with a VW Polo being driven in the opposite direction.

The driver, 34-year-old Joanne Joanne Bailey-Collinge, a former Bedford High School student, sadly died and three others travelling in the car were left injured – two seriously.

Joanne Bailey-Collinge

READ > Men jailed after causing mum-of-five's death by dangerous driving

Pownall failed to stop at the scene and abandoned the vehicle nearby. He then contacted Fairclough who conspired to falsely report the vehicle stolen.

Pownall was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.

Fisher was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Fairclough pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to one year in custody suspended for 12 months.