Sheffield Crown Court: A round-up of some of the week's key cases

Three men have denied murdering Sheffield solicitor Khuram Javed after he was shot three times and stabbed on a footpath.

An ongoing Sheffield Crown Court trial has heard how a 19-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, and two 20-year-old men Tinashe Kampira and Atif Mohammed, all from Sheffield, stand accused of murdering Sheffield solicitor Khuram Javed.

The 19 year-old Sheffield man, who cannot be identified, and Kampira, of Sheffield, whose address cannot be reported for legal reasons, have both pleaded not guilty to murder and not guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Atif Mohammed, of Sharrow Lane, Sharrow, Sheffield, has also denied murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

The judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, has already found Atif Mohammed unfit to be tried due to his learning difficulties and low IQ so the jury’s role concerning him will be to simply ascertain whether he did the acts alleged against him or not. The trial continues.

A booze-fuelled couple has been spared from jail after they attacked and bit neighbours following a dispute over noise and parking.

Christopher Brown and Shannon Stacey, both aged 30, of Pontefract Road, Barnsley, both admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm after they got into a neighbouring couple’s garden and attacked them, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing.

Gurdial Singh, prosecuting, said Brown, who revealed he had been drinking Stella Artois, also admitted causing damage after smashing a window and damaging a door during the incident on July 18, last year.

Recorder Gavin Doig sentenced Brown to 10 months of custody suspended for two years with 80 hours of unpaid work and a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

Stacey was sentenced to nine months of custody suspended for two years with 60 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation requirement.

An online pervert has been put behind bars after he was trapped by police posing as two 12-year-old girls.

Sheffield Crown Court heard on February 7 how Adam Heeps, aged 30, of Alexandra Road, Balby, Doncaster, struck up online, sexual conversations with the two decoy profiles and he was later found with indecent images of children, a prohibited image of a child and extreme pornographic images.

Heeps, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child into a sexual act and attempting to cause a child to watch a sex act, concerning the first profile.

He also admitted attempting sexual communication with a child, concerning the second profile, and he admitted one count of making an indecent photo of a child, possessing prohibited images of a child, and possessing extreme pornographic images.

Recorder Gavin Doig sentenced Heeps to two years and eight months of custody and he was made subject to the Sex Offenders Register for life and to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

A Sheffield man subjected family members to a ‘distressing’ attack while allegedly high on drugs, causing his brother to jump out the window to escape him.

Simbarashe Zimbwa, 25, pleaded guilty to two charges of assault, relating to the incident, and to a further offence of theft at an earlier hearing.

Sentencing Zimbwa, Recorder Richard Wright QC said the incident must have been ‘distressing’ for his mother and brother.

He sentenced Zimbwa to five months in prison, and told him he was likely to be released straight away due to the time he has already served.

A career criminal with more than 30 convictions has been put behind bars again for burgling a veteran’s South Yorkshire home.

Adam Batley committed his latest offence in October last year, when he broke into a property in Barnsley.

Prosecutor, Aaron Dinnes, told Sheffield Crown Court that a number of items were stolen in the raid, including a camera, television and DVD player.

Mr Dinnes said Batley has an extensive criminal record of 64 offences from 35 convictions; and he was also brought before the court during the hearing on February 10 to be sentenced for fraud by false representation relating to the theft of a bank card.

Recorder Richard Wright QC sentenced Batley to 10 months in prison for all offences.

A tearful fraudster who conned her Sheffield employers out of thousands of pounds begged the judge not to put her behind bars as she was jailed.

Sheffield Crown Court heard on February 9 how Rachael McRoy, aged 36, of Barnsley Road, Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, committed the fraud while she was working for Sheffield courier firms Intime Express and Rocket Express as an accounts administrator.

McRoy had originally pleaded guilty in May, 2021, to two counts of fraud relating to her time as an accounts administrator for Intime Express, between 2016 and 2019, and Rocket Express, between 2018 and 2019.

However, as Judge Kelson told McRoy she would be going to prison she was reduced to tears and begged not to be sent to jail as she was led away by the dock officer.