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Jamie Rothwell's life in Monster Mansion revealed as gangster faces hell in prison
Salford gangster Jamie Rothwell faces years behind bars in high security jails following 'mind numbing' routines, his lawyer has said.
Rothwell, 38, is waiting to learn his fate after admitting a series of gun and drug crimes. The hacking of communications network EncroChat, a system used by organised criminals, revealed he had organised underworld hits; arranged huge drug deals; and dealt in deadly weapons from the comfort of an apartment in Barcelona.
He was transported to Manchester Crown Court under armed guard today (Wednesday, August 13) to hear his lawyer address a judge on his behalf. Judge John Potter is expected to sentence Rothwell and nine other men tomorrow (Thursday, August 14).
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'He has spent years now in Wakefield prison,' Chris Henley KC said of his Rothwell. He said Rothwell had a brief spell in Strangeways prison in Manchester, where he was the victim of what was described as a 'ferocious, almost fatal assault'.
The Manchester Evening News previously reported how Rothwell's case had to be halted last summer after he was knifed in the jail, formally known as HMP Manchester.
'He has time now to think about where his priorities in the future will lie,' Mr Henley added. The barrister said Rothwell was asking the judge to give him 'some hope'.
'He is now a much wiser and mature man,' the KC said. He asked the judge to give Rothwell 'some prospect of living differently for the remainder of his life'.
'He knows what is ahead of him,' Mr Henley said. 'Years in high security conditions in very confined space, with a mind numbing routine that he will have to make the best of.'
He said that three members of staff from HMP Wakefield had submitted references on Rothwell's behalf. 'He has not just been a good inmate, not causing trouble,' Mr Henley added.
'He has been a positive influence, a positive conduit between the authorities and other inmates.'
Rothwell was a leading light in the Salford gang feud which erupted between 2014 and 2019 between rival outfits the A Team and the Anti A-Team.
Rothwell was said to be the right-hand-man of Michael Carroll, the alleged leader of the Anti A-Team, in opposition to the A-Team, said to be led by Stephen Britton. Gangster Paul Massey was said to be Britton's mentor.
Rothwell was shot at a car wash in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, in March 2015 as part of the feud. A gun man sprayed bullets at him but Rothwell survived. In July that year, Massey was shot dead outside his home in Salford by Mark Fellows, an Anti A-Team associate nicknamed The Iceman.
Months later, in October, seven-year-old Christian Hickey was shot at his doorstep as the A Team sought revenge in a botched hit, thought to have been targeting the schoolboy's father, a close associate of Carroll.
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In October 2020, after being extradited from Barcelona, Rothwell went on trial at Manchester Crown Court alongside four other men, including Mark Fellows, accused of conspiring to murder two A Team associates, after one was shot in February 2015 and the other attacked with a machete in March that year.
Rothwell was found not guilty of all charges. At some point after his acquittals, Rothwell left the country. He was arrested in Amsterdam on December 14, 2020, before being extradited back to the UK in March 2021 after police obtained a European Arrest Warrant.
Rothwell pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life; one count of conspiracy to possess ammunition with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A, namely cocaine; two counts of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and a single count of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class B, namely ketamine.
He pleaded not guilty to five other charges - two counts of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent; two counts of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A, namely diamorphine and cannabis and a single count of possession of criminal property, namely money. Rothwell had been on trial last year, but the case was adjourned after he was stabbed in HMP Manchester.
Rothwell and his co-defendants - Andrew Ackers, Scott Davies, Craig Makinson, John Moore, James Close, Callum Morris, Zak Rourke, Terence McDonagh and John Stankus - are expected to be sentenced on Thursday.
