Flintshire man jailed after attack at Newport cocktail bar
The assault was unprovoked and on an unsuspecting victim who was sitting down at the time after he'd been dancing with the defendant's girlfriend.
Lyons, 27, is originally from Newport but had moved to live in North Wales.
He, his partner Shaunnia Connolly and another woman had travelled to his home city for a night out on Friday, March 28.
(Image: Beau Lyons) Nuhu Gobir, prosecuting, revealed how Mr Edwards has no memory of the violence and the first thing he recalls is waking up in an ambulance covered in blood.
CCTV footage of the shocking assault was played at Newport Crown Court to Judge Eugene Egan.
The complainant was left with a 5cm cut from his left ear to the base of his skull.
In a victim impact statement read by Mr Gubir, he said: 'I have been crying a lot because of the state of my ear.
'I feel like I'm deformed. I'm always looking over my shoulder when I'm out now.
'People have been making comments about my ear.
'Somebody said I look like something out of Star Wars which has knocked my confidence right down.'
The court heard that security staff had 'escorted' Lyons out of Mojo's before he tried to make a run for it.
They tackled him and held him until the police arrived.
He glassed Mr Edwards to the side of his face before throwing him into a nearby table and continuing the assault before the bouncers stopped him.
Lyons and the women had been on a pub crawl before the attack happened at around 11pm.
The defendant pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon in public.
Lyons, a young father, has no previous convictions and the court heard his behaviour was 'very much out of character'.
His barrister Julia Cox said: 'There is clear evidence of genuine remorse in this case.
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'The defendant is disgusted with his own behaviour.
'He's viewed the CCTV and it is a shame upon him.'
Judge Egan told Lyons: 'You are an educated man up to degree level.
'When you observed the CCTV, you were disgusted with yourself – and so you should be.'
The defendant was jailed for three years and told he would serve half of that sentence before being released on licence.
The time he has spent on remand following his arrest will count towards that term.
Lyons will have to pay a victim surcharge.
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Edinburgh Live
5 days ago
- Edinburgh Live
Gangster Ross McGill's promising athletic past long before Edinburgh gang wars
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Gangster Ross McGill is now known to many as the Dubai-based crime lord Mr Big, but things could've turned out very differently. He first came to public attention as a promising young athlete, and began collecting sprinting medals at 15-years-old. In 2010, he claimed a bronze in the under 17's 60 metre race at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. The following year, he came first in the New Years Day meeting in Musselburgh - winning the 60m handicap race. The following month in the under 20s men's event he smashed the club's 60 metre record beating the best in Scotland in the process, reports the Daily Record. By this time he had been called into a training group for the Scottish Athletics team coached by Olympian Brian Whittle, now Tory MSP. He was picked to represent his country in the Celtic games in Antrim in Northern Ireland in August 2011 and came second in the 100 metres. McGill also set a highly impressive personal best time of just over 11 seconds. But it was his one and only appearance. Despite the prospect of a promising and lucrative athletics career he seemed to disappear off the radar. But McGill was embarking on another race - to the top of the criminal ladder. While he enjoyed some success as a runner he obviously believed that greater success, power and riches were to be found elsewhere. At the age of 14 in 2008 the keen Rangers fan had joined the Union Bears, an emerging Rangers fans ultra group. By 2021 he was its leader or Capo with access all areas at Ibrox and had been photographed with Rangers captain James Tavernier and then manager Steven Gerard. Nobody at Ibrox suspected there was anything wrong with this outwardly pleasant and articulate individual. In September that year he unexpectedly resigned his position as leader and appeared to have disappeared off the radar for a second time. However he was about to go down a third route that would bring him even great notoriety. In early March this year a series of attacks on members and associates of the Daniel crime family both in Edinburgh and Glasgow began, which to this day has resulted in more than 50 police arrests. The attacks would continue into June and involved daytime assaults with machetes and firebombings of people's homes and commercial property. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox At that time the Daniel's had been in a long running feud with another Glasgow crime family the Lyons. It appeared that associates of Edinburgh cocaine baron Mark Richardson - a Daniel ally - had in turn duped a Lyons associate by paying for a £500,000 drugs deal with fake notes. It had echoes of a previous incident almost 25 years ago. In this instance the Lyons were alleged to have stolen £20,000 worth of coke from a Daniel safe house in Milton, Glasgow. The man said to be orchestrating the violence was none other than Ross McGill, now holed up in Dubai and the alleged victim of the fake cash scam. A group of highly motivated young men going under the name Tamo Junto were carrying out the attacks in Scotland, allegedly under under McGill's orders, posting videos of the violence including burning properties. The footage also carried warnings of further attacks against the Daniel's and their associates. The Richardson crew had made the mistake of thinking he was a nobody and easy prey - but nothing could have been further from the truth. In reality the 31 year old he had been on a police watch list for several years over claims he was involved in drug dealing and serious and organised crime. As a result he he fled the UK fearing he would be arrested after French cops cracked an encrypted criminals phone network EncroChat. That had been the means by which gangs across the world could previously contact each other, do business, and leave messages without being caught. Now Police Scotland had a haul of incriminating information that was already bringing down a large number of organised crime groups. McGill, who was known by the nickname Miami, had initially fled to Malaga in Spain before moving to Dubai where he resurfaced as an aspiring crimelord. To this day it is not clear how McGill made the transformation from promising athlete, to fans leader to international crime figure. It was however clear he had made contacts with some of Scotland's most powerful underworld figures but how? One suggestion is that he developed links with key figures following Rangers - both at home and abroad - providing an excellent cover for any clandestine meetings. It's also been claimed McGill was introduced to the highest levels of criminal networks by by another Glasgow organised crime figure 47 year old James White - known as the Don. He had previously been the right hand man of two drug dealing brothers James and Barry Gillespie from Rutherglen near Glasgow. The Gillespie's had been exposed for the first time in 2019 by our sister paper the Sunday Mail as Scotland's two most powerful crime figures. By then they had relocated to the town of Fortaleza in Brazil with White but went missing around 2019 and are now thought to have been murdered. White was extradited back to Scotland in 2022 from Brazil to stand trial at the High Court in Glasgow where he was sentenced in 2023 to nine years and ten months for his involvement in serious and organised crime. McGill is also a close pal of ex-Union Bears Lloyd Cross, 33, now serving a six year prison stretch for his role in a £100million racket smuggling cocaine in banana boxes. The man said to have masterminded that particular operation was gangland Mr Big Jamie 'Iceman' Stevenson who is serving a sentence of 16 years and three months for his role. It's also been claimed that McGill's rise rapid rise has been boosted by support from gang chiefs Steven Lyons, 44, and the late Ross Monaghan, 43, who was shot dead at his bar in Fuengirola in Spain along with close friend and associate Eddie Lyons jnr in May. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages With White and others in prison and the Gillespies missing presumed dead, it's been claimed that Ross McGill now oversees drug routes from South America previously established by others. In turn fast-tracking his rise to the top of the criminal tree. However people we have spoken to suggest that McGill like other criminals before him is merely filling the vacuum that normally opens when major crime figures are behind bars. In a recent interview for Criminal Record Graeme Pearson, former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement said: "You have the new first division coming through who are saying these old guys are in the jail, we don't need to bother with them, we'll do our own thing and that creates the violence we now witness." One source said: "People think he must be backed by someone bigger, but McGill is very much his own man and used to running his own organisation. "The Union Bears is a good example of that." As things stand at present McGill appears to be stuck in Dubai as he faces arrest if he returns to the UK. At present there is no extradition treaty between the UK and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but that could change in the future. There have been suggestions that McGill - and other Scottish underworld figures based there - could try to get UAE citizenship to avoid being sent back to Britain. One police source told the Daily Record: "At the end of the day McGill can run but he can't hide. "But you have to remember that McGill used to be good at running."
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Gangster Ross McGill's life on the run from - from promising athlete to Mr Big
The Daily Record tells how Ross McGill went from a promising teenage athlete to international crime boss in the space of a few years It was an obscure race meeting in front of only a few spectators in the tiny town of Alva near Stirling in July 2009 when 15 year old runner Ross McGill first came to public attention. As a promising sprinter with the Renfrewshire athletics club Kilbarchan Harriers the youngster from East Kilbride in Lanarkshire came third in a 70 metre race. Six months later in early January 2010 he claimed another bronze in an under 17's 60 metres with a time of 7.4 seconds at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. McGill's big breakthrough came in 2011 when he came first in the New Years Day meeting in Musselburgh when he won the 60m handicap race and finished second in the 90m. The following month in the under 20s men's event he smashed the club's 60 metre record beating the best in Scotland in the process. By this time he had been called into a training group for the Scottish Athletics team coached by Olympian Brian Whittle, now Tory MSP . He was picked to represent his country in the Celtic games in Antrim in Northern Ireland in August 2011 and came second in the 100 metres. McGill also set a highly impressive personal best time of just over 11 seconds. But it was his one and only appearance. Despite the prospect of a promising and lucrative athletics career he seemed to disappear off the radar. But McGill was embarking on another race - to the top of the criminal ladder. While he enjoyed some success as a runner he obviously believed that greater success, power and riches were to be found elsewhere. At the age of 14 in 2008 the keen Rangers fan had joined the Union Bears. an emerging Rangers fans ultra group. By 2021 he was its leader or Capo with access all areas at Ibrox and had been photographed with Rangers captain James Tavernier and then manager Steven Gerard. Nobody at Ibrox suspected there was anything wrong with this outwardly pleasant and articulate individual. In September that year he unexpectedly resigned his position as leader and appeared to have disappeared off the radar for a second time. However he was about to go down a third route that would bring him even great notoriety. In early March this year a series of attacks on members and associates of the Daniel crime family both in Edinburgh and Glasgow began, which to this day has resulted in more than 50 police arrests. The attacks would continue into June and involved daytime assaults with machetes and firebombings of people's homes and commercial property. At that time the Daniel's had been in a long running feud with another Glasgow crime family the Lyons. It appeared that associates of Edinburgh cocaine baron Mark Richardson - a Daniel ally - had in turn duped a Lyons associate by paying for a £500,000 drugs deal with fake notes. It had echoes of a previous incident almost 25 years ago. In this instance the Lyons were alleged to have stolen £20,000 worth of coke from a Daniel safe house in Milton, Glasgow. The man said to be orchestrating the violence was none other than Ross McGill, now holed up in Dubai and the alleged victim of the fake cash scam. A group of highly motivated young men going under the name Tamo Junto were carrying out the attacks in Scotland, allegedly under under McGill's orders, posting videos of the violence including burning properties. The footage also carried warnings of further attacks against the Daniel's and their associates. The Richardson crew had made the mistake of thinking he was a nobody and easy prey - but nothing could have been further from the truth. In reality the 31 year old he had been on a police watch list for several years over claims he was involved in drug dealing and serious and organised crime. As a result he he fled the UK fearing he would be arrested after French cops cracked an encrypted criminals phone network EncroChat. That had been the means by which gangs across the world could previously contact each other, do business, and leave messages without being caught. Now Police Scotland had a haul of incriminating information that was already bringing down a large number of organised crime groups. McGill, who was known by the nickname Miami, had initially fled to Malaga in Spain before moving to Dubai where he resurfaced as an aspiring crimelord. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. To this day it is not clear how McGill made the transformation from promising athlete, to fans leader to international crime figure. It was however clear he had made contacts with some of Scotland's most powerful underworld figures but how? One suggestion is that he developed links with key figures following Rangers - both at home and abroad - providing an excellent cover for any clandestine meetings. It's also been claimed McGill was introduced to the highest levels of criminal networks by by another Glasgow organised crime figure 47 year old James White - known as the Don. He had previously been the right hand man of two drug dealing brothers James and Barry Gillespie from Rutherglen near Glasgow. The Gillespie's had been exposed for the first time in 2019 by our sister paper the Sunday Mail as Scotland's two most powerful crime figures. By then they had relocated to the town of Fortaleza in Brazil with White but went missing around 2019 and are now thought to have been murdered. White was extradited back to Scotland in 2022 from Brazil to stand trial at the High Court in Glasgow where he was sentenced in 2023 to nine years and ten months for his involvement in serious and organised crime. McGill is also a close pal of ex-Union Bears Lloyd Cross, 33, now serving a six year prison stretch for his role in a £100million racket smuggling cocaine in banana boxes. The man said to have masterminded that particular operation was gangland Mr Big Jamie "Iceman" Stevenson who is serving a sentence of 16 years and three months for his role. It's also been claimed that McGill's rise rapid rise has been boosted by support from gang chiefs Steven Lyons, 44, and the late Ross Monaghan, 43, who was shot dead at his bar in Fuengirola in Spain alongwith close friend and associate Eddie Lyons jnr in May. With White and others in prison and the Gillespies missing presumed dead, it's been claimed that Ross McGill now oversees drug routes from South America previously established by others. In turn fast-tracking his rise to the top of the criminal tree. However people we have spoken to suggest that McGill like other criminals before him is merely filling the vacuum that normally opens when major crime figures are behind bars. In a recent interview for Criminal Record Graeme Pearson, former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement said:"You have the new first division coming through who are saying these old guys are in the jail, we don't need to bother with them, we'll do our own thing and that creates the violence we now witness." One source said: "People think he must be backed by someone bigger, but McGill is very much his own man and used to running his own organisation. "The Union Bears is a good example of that." As things stand at present McGill appears to be stuck in Dubai as he faces arrest if he returns to the UK. At present there is no extradition treaty between the UK and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but that could change in the future. There have been suggestions that McGill - and other Scottish underworld figures based there - could try to get UAE citizenship to avoid being sent back to Britain. One police source told the Daily Record:"At the end of the day McGill can run but he can't hide. "But you have to remember that McGill used to be good at running."
BBC News
07-08-2025
- BBC News
Northampton town centre crime crackdown results in 52 arrests
Beat officers targeting specific crimes in a town centre have made 52 arrests within the first four weeks of the said the operation in Northampton's Market Square area was tackling anti-social behaviour, retail offences, drugs and serious well as the arrests, officers conducted 29 stop searches as well as patrolling insecure buildings which could be a target for anti-social behaviour or has also been an increased use of community protection warnings (CPWs) and community protection notices (CPNs). Neighbourhood policing inspector Nicola Davis-Lyons said the project was building on successes seen last year, and had been welcomed by town centre businesses, workers and residents."We've been making good progress in terms of arrest figures, and our use of CPWs and CPNs is down to increased public reports about anti-social behaviour," she said. "Under-reporting is still an issue so we're really encouraging everyone to let us know about any suspicious or criminal activity they see or are aware of."Please have the confidence to share what you know with us, to help us do even more." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
