Facebook Marketplace fraudster jailed for scamming sellers
Prosecutor David Ward told the court how Coleman was involved in taking a £2,400 e-bike from a man in the Cookridge area of Leeds last year, but he was identified from Ring doorbell footage.In February this year a woman's Land Rover vehicle worth over £5,000 was obtained by Coleman using the bogus app, the court was told. It was later recovered, bearing false plates, from the caravan site where he lived.The following month a Huddersfield man advertised two iPhone 16s for sale which Coleman took away using the fake app.When that customer contacted him it was said Coleman told him: "You don't know who I am and what I can do. I will come to your house and destroy your property."Mr Ward also told how in another offence, in Bradford, Coleman and another man took a £4,000 KTM motorbike. As they fled the scene one of them made a threat to stab the seller.Representing the defendant, barrister Nicholas Leadbeater conceded that his only mitigation was his early guilty pleas.Recorder Anthony Hawks said Coleman had "an appalling record" adding: "You're becoming, if you haven't already become, a career criminal in my judgement."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Sir Keir Starmer calls for police to be 'as transparent as possible' over ethnicity of sex offence suspects: PM forced to step in as Nigel Farage leads fury over 'cover-up of alleged attack on girl, 1
Sir Keir Starmer has called for the police to be as 'transparent as possible' about the ethnicity of suspected sex offenders. The Prime Minister was forced to respond on Monday after Nigel Farage's demanded that police disclose the backgrounds of those charged with rape and sexual assault. It comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed that two Afghan asylum seekers have been charged in connection with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. In a press conference on Monday, the Reform UK leader accused police of a 'cover-up' for failing to divulge the ethnicity or immigration status of the two men. He warned that it was 'reminiscent' of speculation about the background of the Southport killer last year which triggered a wave of conspiracy theories and riots last summer. Appearing alongside him, the 19-year-old Reform leader of Warwickshire County Council said he had 'begged' the police force to release details of the men's backgrounds. George Finch claimed he had been told he could not release information about the men's background himself 'due to this phrase 'community cohesion'.' Mr Farage's intervention prompted Downing Street to tell the police to be as 'transparent as possible' when it came to revealing the ethnicity of people charged with offences. Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) has called for the police to be as 'transparent as possible' about the ethnicity of suspected sex offenders. The Prime Minister's spokesman said the Government had 'always said, and continues to say, that transparency is important' The Prime Minister was forced to respond on Monday after Nigel Farage's demanded that police disclose the backgrounds of those charged with rape and sexual assault. In a press conference on Monday, the Reform UK leader accused police of a 'cover-up' The Prime Minister's spokesman said the Government had 'always said, and continues to say, that transparency is important'. He said the case in Nuneaton was 'clearly a deeply upsetting and distressing case, which the public are right to feel shocked and angry about.' 'Our position is that all authorities, from the police up to central government, should be as transparent as possible when handling these cases,' he added. Mr Farage said on Monday that it was 'absolutely disgraceful' that the police had not informed the public that the men were Afghan asylum seekers. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was charged with rape and Mohammad Kabir, also 23, was charged with aiding and abetting an assault, as well as strangulation and kidnapping. The Reform leader said that the backgrounds of suspects charged with sexual assault and rape should be shared with the public. 'Our position is that all authorities, from the police up to central government, should be as transparent as possible when handling these cases,' he said. 'Given there's a pretty febrile atmosphere... particularly [around] sexual assaults and rapes, where the temperature on this debate has risen significantly... I do believe they should [disclose suspects' ethnicities].' Mr Farage said on Monday that it was 'absolutely disgraceful' that the police had not informed the public that the men were Afghan asylum seekers. The Reform leader said that the backgrounds of suspects charged with sexual assault and rape should be shared publicly The PM's spokesman said the case in Nuneaton (pictured) was 'clearly a deeply upsetting and distressing case, which the public are right to feel shocked and angry about' Sir Keir has responded to Nigel Farage's warning that a 'police cover-up was 'reminiscent' of speculation about the background of the Southport killer last year which triggered a wave of conspiracy theories and riots last summer He warned that failing to disclose these details could lead to a repeat of the riots which happened in the wake of the murders of three children last year. 'What caused unrest on our streets after Southport last year was us not being told the status of the attacker,' he said. 'That led to crazy conspiracy theories spreading online.' The aftermath of the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed event by Axel Rudakubana a year ago sparked riots across the country. The unrest was fuelled by conspiracy theories and speculation on social media that the suspect was an illegal migrant. Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, later said that the failure to share basic facts had led to 'dangerous fictions' which caused the riots. Warwickshire Police has defended its position on the Nuneaton case, stating: 'We follow national guidance,' adding that this does not extend to 'sharing ethnicity or immigration status'. 'Where relevant, sensitive information around locations, details of the crime and policing activity to catch offenders can be shared, with a warning that this is sensitive or confidential information and disclosure by those being briefed could affect future court hearings,' it said. Appearing alongside Farage, George Finch (pictured), the 19-year-old Reform leader of Warwickshire County Council said he had 'begged' the police force to release details of the men's backgrounds. but that police refused 'due to this phrase "community cohesion".' During the press conference, Mr Farage also revealed the defection of Rupert Matthews (pictured) , the Tory police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire The guidance is issued by the Royal College of Policing and covers what details should be released to media but does not mention details of race, ethnicity or immigration status. Mr Finch, the 19-year-old council leader, told the press conference that he had been 'begging' for information about the men to be released. He said he had emailed the council's chief executive to urge them to release information about the men's immigration status. He said he also wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and the chief constable of Warwickshire Police calling for the immediate release of their immigration status. In it, he claimed that a 'cover-up' of the men's background 'risks public disorder breaking out on the streets of Warwickshire'. 'Having my ear to the ground locally, it is clear that there is much appetite for protests to take place across the county,' the letter adds. During the press conference, Mr Farage also revealed the defection of Rupert Matthews, the Tory police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire. The former Tory MEP and party member for 40 years left the party because he said Britain needed to cut the 'dark heart of wokeness' out of the criminal justice system. The author of various books on ghosts and UFOs becomes the party's first police and crime commissioner.
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Girl, four, dies in hospital after 'incident' at Waterworld
A four-year-old girl has died following an incident at a swimming pool in Waterworld today. Paramedics rushed to the scene at Waterworld on Festival Way in Hanley, Staffordshire, amid reports a child was in critical condition. Both West Midlands Ambulance Service and Waterworld staff treated the youngster before taking her to hospital for further care. But, despite best efforts of medical staff, the young girl died a shortly afterwards. The child's next of kin have been informed and are currently being supported by specially-trained officers. Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Maskew from Staffordshire Police said: 'Our thoughts are with the family at this terribly sad time. 'We are now making enquiries and looking to establish the circumstances of the incident. 'We would ask that members of the public avoid speculating in these early stages of the investigation and allow the family to grieve.' A Waterworld spokesperson said: 'It is with great sadness that we learned of this little girl's passing this evening. 'All our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during these extremely difficult times. 'Waterworld is in shock and has decided to remain closed tomorrow out of respect for the family. Waterworld is working closely with the authorities at this sad time.' Staffordshire Police are urging any witnesses or anyone with knowledge to contact them by calling 101 quoting incident number 460 of August 4.
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Girl, 14, died at psychiatric hospital after 'worker' with false ID left her alone - then fled the UK, inquest hears
A 14-year-old girl who should have been under constant supervision at a psychiatric hospital has died after a 'care worker', who used a fake ID to get the job, left her alone before fleeing to Ghana, an inquest has heard. Ruth Szymankiewicz, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, had an eating disorder and was a patient at Huntercombe Hospital's Thames ward, a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Maidenhead, since October 2021. She had been placed under strict one-to-one supervision following a self-harming incident 10 days before her death, a jury inquest held at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court heard on Monday. However, on February 12, 2022, the member of staff responsible for watching her - a man then known as Ebo Acheampong - failed to maintain the constant supervision plan, the court was told. He left Ruth unaccompanied for around 15 minutes and she was left to walk around the hospital and to her room, assistant coroner Ian Wade KC said. The teenager was found unconscious shortly after, having been left alone long enough to asphyxiate herself and sadly died at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford two days later. A post-mortem examination carried out by the Home Office later determined the preliminary cause of death to be 'hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy' - a type of brain damage due to lack of oxygen. It later emerged Acheampong had been using false identity documents and was hired by the hospital under a fake name, Mr Wade told the court. Speaking to jurors, the coroner said: 'The evidence showed he had been employed through an agency (Platinum), who checked his identity documents, and they even trained him by putting him through a day-and-a-half course. 'It appears that these particular processes were the norm and were sufficient to enable a hospital to employ this person. 'But on February 12, he did not keep Ruth under a constant watch. 'Some time around 8pm in the evening, this man ended his shift without knowing where she was and without making sure that he handed her over to another member of staff to continue the one-to-one care regime. 'He simply left.' Acheampong never returned to work at Huntercombe Hospital and instead fled the UK to Ghana, where it is thought he is originally from, jurors were told. 'It seems that he learned what happened that evening,' Mr Wade said. Thames Valley Police launched an investigation and found Acheampong had gone to Heathrow airport and got on a plane to Ghana 'never to be seen again', the coroner said. 'You will not hear from that man, and he let Ruth down,' Mr Wade told jurors. The court further heard Huntercombe Hospital had been inspected twice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) prior to the incident. 'The CQC had not reported favourably on Huntercombe,' the coroner told the inquest. Active Care Group, which owned Huntercombe at the time of Ruth's death, has since closed the facility. Paying tribute the Ruth, her parents Kate and Mark, a GP and surgeon respectively, said she loved animals and reading and had a 'fiery, determined' personality and a 'huge heart'. They said she 'was and still is deeply loved' and added her death has 'shattered' them. The jury was told Ruth had climbed Kilimanjaro aged just 11 and had once lived in Tanzania for a period of time with her parents and two sisters. Ruth was initially being cared for on the children's ward at Salisbury Hospital but was transferred to Southampton for further care after she was injured when a nasogastric tube fed contents into a lung instead of her stomach in September 2021. Her parents said they were told days later that Ruth would be moved to Huntercombe Hospital, which they found had a poor rating and was a two-hour drive away from their home. Her mother, Dr Szymankiewicz, said the process for why Ruth needed to be moved to the hospital and onto a PICU was 'opaque' and that the system was 'incredibly difficult to navigate'. In a statement, she said: 'We wish we had fought harder. We had no idea how awful it would be.' She said there was 'never any sense that staff thought it was important to communicate' with them about her daughter's care. Serious incidents, including Ruth drinking cleaning fluid and having black eyes, were not raised with them, Dr Szymankiewicz added. The inquest, at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court in Beaconsfield, is expected to last for about two weeks.
