Latest news with #ExeterCrownCourt
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Exeter drug trafficker's sentence increased
A drug trafficker has had his prison sentence extended after the Court of Appeal deemed his initial punishment too Wills, 36, from Bridford, Exeter, was sentenced to nine years in prison in March for his role in two organised crime groups that trafficked large quantities of cocaine across the country. However his sentence was increased to 14 years on Thursday after a referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme by Solicitor General Lucy was convicted at Exeter Crown Court of conspiracy to supply and possession with intent to supply Class A and B drugs, as well as possession of a prohibited firearm. The court heard that between 2019 and 2020, Wills operated from a rented farmhouse, using outbuildings to store and package cocaine and cultivate cannabis. He was linked to a London-based foreign crime group supplying drugs to dealers in arrested Wills on 1 May 2020 after stopping his vehicle. A search of his property uncovered firearms, ammunition, and more than £46,000 worth of who has 33 previous convictions, including firearm offences, had been prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition since 2018. Despite this, he was convicted in 2021 for illegally possessing an air rifle and General Lucy Rigby said: "We know that the impact of organised crime on our communities is devastating and I welcome the court's decision to increase Wills' sentence following my intervention."Four other men have also been convicted for their roles in the gang.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Man 'lucky' not to have killed stranger he stabbed in Ilfracombe
A 56-year-old man who launched an unprovoked knife attack on a stranger was fortunate not to have killed him, a judge has Lammas, of Belvedere Road, Ilfracombe, stabbed a 33-year-old man multiple times on the high street in the north Devon town in September Exeter Crown Court, Lammas admitted wounding with intent and was jailed for three years and four Anna Richardson said "such an unprovoked attack would be terrifying" for the victim. The court heard Lammas admit he "went a bit far" as he went to help a girl who he thought the victim was attacking or having a heated row victim needed hospital treatment and said he was suffering panic attacks and court also heard Lammas, who has complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), had drunk alcohol and used cannabis and Valium before the incident.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ex-policeman sentenced over indecent child images
A former policeman from Exeter has admitted possessing indecent images of children more than three years after he was arrested. John Bramwell, 55, of Causey Gardens, pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing images ranging from category A - the most severe - to category C. Exeter Crown Court heard Bramwell, a former sergeant in Devon and Cornwall Police, served for 22 years as an officer and was in the Royal Engineers for 10 years, where he was a lance corporal. He was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge on each count, placed on the sex offenders register for a year and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years. The court was told Bramwell suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following an incident during his military service. The judge was told Bramwell was dismissed from the Devon and Cornwall force in 2021 and he now worked as a factory supervisor. The court also heard he downloaded the nine images on to his mobile phone on one occasion on one day in October 2021. Recorder Don Tait said Bramwell had lost his good character. The judge said, as a serving police officer, Bramwell would have known how prevalent such types of offences were. More news stories for Devon Listen to the latest news for Devon Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Exeter Law Courts
BBC News
13-05-2025
- BBC News
Man who threatened Devon Wetherspoon customers with axe jailed
A man who marched into a Wetherspoon pub armed with an axe and threatened two men in the beer garden has been jailed. Jason Semple, 54, of Tavistock Road, Okehampton, Devon, admitted two charges of threatening a person with a bladed article at the White Hart Hotel in Okehampton. The incident happened at about 18:00 BST on 13 April, with Semple later arrested a mile-and-a-half (2.4km) away but the axe was not Exeter Crown Court, Semple admitted "shame and embarrassment" to what he did before being sentenced to 10 months in prison. Sentencing, Judge David Evans said Semple's intention was to frighten rather than use the axe, but added there was a foreseeable risk that the weapon could have been court also heard Semple, who had 140 previous convictions, had been drinking all claimed he could not remember what happened in the short-lived incident, which was also caught on Semple added that he felt shame and embarrassment for what had happened, the court heard.
Sky News
03-04-2025
- Sky News
Thomas Kettleborough: 'Vile' former police inspector caught in child sex sting
A 'vile' former police officer who was caught in a sting operation after travelling to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy has been jailed. Thomas Kettleborough, 35, then an inspector with Avon and Somerset Police, was arrested in July 2023 while attempting to meet up with 'the teenager' after communicating with him on Grindr and Snapchat. However, he was actually speaking to undercover officers. After being detained at a car park in Bristol, officers found a bag in the boot of his car containing "an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints," Exeter Crown Court heard. More than 150 indecent images of children were also discovered on his phone and computer. Kettleborough used the apps to have sexually explicit chats with the teenager, using the name Liam, while claiming to be 28, prosecutors said. In February, he pleaded guilty to several child sex offences, including attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Last month he was sacked by Avon and Somerset Police and barred from policing for gross misconduct. He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on Thursday. Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the public would be "appalled by the vile and manipulative actions of this former officer". She added: "He was caught following a policing operation designed to keep children safe which has resulted in his wider offending being identified." Detective Inspector Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said Kettleborough's crimes took place over four years, The former officer held positions of trust in the police, the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society, but "concealed his true identity through an online persona as 'Liam', 'L S' and 'Liamss5506'," Mr Wells said. Mr Wells added: "Specialist investigators are ready to listen and investigate any reports relating to Thomas Kettleborough or any other matters of concern. I want people to know that they will be believed. "Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so." Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kettleborough had shown genuine remorse for his crimes. He added that the former officer had "done everything that he can attempt to do to try and understand why it is he committed the offences that he did." Kettleborough was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
