These defendants have served the first few days of sentences ranging in length from 19 months to 30 years.
Among those jailed over the last 14 days are Archie McNeil, aged 41, of Old Hay Close, Dore and 61-year-old Neil Murray of Erskine Crescent, Arbourthorne, who were sentenced to 30 and 20 years respectively for their Sheffield-based criminal enterprise in which they acted as a courier and storage service for organised crime gangs operating across the country. The pair were sent down during a hearing held at Hull Crown Court on Friday, August 26.
Child rapist, Barry Williams, aged 74, of formerly of Ryecroft Street in Ashton-Under-Lyne, was sent to begin a 15-year sentence on Wednesday, August 31, after admitting to 15 sex offences including six counts of rape of a child under the age of 13 at an earlier hearing. Following the sentencing, PC Jason Earl, who led the investigation, commended Williams’ victims, the oldest of whom is now aged just 12, for their bravery.
Callom Taylor, aged 19, was brought to justice for the five people he attacked during four episodes of violence carried out in Gleadless between November 2021 and January 2022 during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on August 30, when he was given a 23-year extended sentence, comprised of 18 years’ custody and a five-year extended licence period.
As the Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, sent Taylor, of no fixed abode, to begin his sentence, he told the teenager: “I have no doubt you are a dangerous young man.
“You have committed a series of very serious attacks upon individuals with knives and other offensive weapons. Serious injuries have been caused.”
1. Archie McNeil and Neil Murray: Sheffield men jailed for five decades for transporting guns, cash and drugs worth £25m to gangs nationwide
Archie McNeil (left) and Neil Murray have been jailed for a combined total of 50 years for transporting guns, cash and almost a metric tonne of cocaine to organised crime groups located around the country. During an August 26 sentencing hearing, Hull Crown Court heard how that among the criminal property transported to organised crime groups (OCG) by Murray and McNeil’s enterprise was a firearm that Murray picked up from Bradford and took to Liverpool to give to an OCG. Prosecuting barrister, Ben Campbell, described how over the course of around a year in 2020, Murray and McNeil’s criminal enterprise transported around 987kg of cocaine, with an estimated value of between nearly £29.5million and £44million, to OCGs located across the country. McNeil pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A, conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class, conspiracy to transfer criminal property, conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons, possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of a firearm without a certificate Murray pleaded guilty to charges of charges of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A, conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class B, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons. Judge Peter Kelson QC jailed McNeil and Murray for 30 and 20 years each, respectively. Photo: SYP
2. Barry Williams: Vile child rapist who destroyed his victims' early childhood jailed for 15 years
Barry Williams, aged 74, was sentenced to 15 years in prison during a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on August 31, after Williams admitted to 15 sex offences carried out against two girls, the oldest of whom is now aged just 12. As he sent Williams to begin his sentence, Judge Graham Robinson told the pensioner that the ‘early childhood’ of his victims had been destroyed by his actions, adding that children violated in this manner could find it difficult to form relationships and to trust people. "They are still very young children and it is too early to say what lasting damage you have caused to them. It may be that they never recover," said Judge Robinson. At an earlier hearing, Williams, formerly of Ryecroft Street in Ashton-Under-Lyne, pleaded guilty to all charges he faced, including: six counts of rape of a child under 13; three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13; three counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13; two counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one count of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity. Photo: SYP
3. Callom Taylor: Teen who admitted it 'feels good to hurt someone' after four stabbings gets 18 years behind bars
Callom Taylor, aged 19, was brought to justice for the five people he attacked during four episodes of violence carried out in Gleadless between November 2021 and January 2022 during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on August 30, when he was given a 23-year extended sentence, comprised of 18 years’ custody and a five-year extended licence period. The court heard how during Taylor’s reign of terror over four separate incidents, he attacked a man with ‘intellectual disadvantages’ with nunchucks; stabbed a male relation to the arm and hip; let himself into the house of a couple who had been ‘kind’ to him and stabbed them both multiple times, before robbing and stabbing another man known to him. Two of Taylor’s victims required surgery following his attacks on them, one of whom needed to have a blood transfusion; while another will require plastic surgery to repair the injury to his arm and may be left with permanent nerve damage. Taylor, of no fixed abode, entered guilty pleas for numerous charges including wounding with intent, possession of an offensive weapon, robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing. The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, said he had been considering handing Taylor, who suffered from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) as a child, a life sentence for his crimes. But, after hearing of the treatment Taylor endured during his formative years, Judge Richardson said he wanted more time to consider whether a life sentence was an appropriate punishment, and adjourned sentence until August 30. Judge Richardson told Taylor that ultimately he had decided to ‘pull-back’ from imposing a life sentence. He added: “I want to make it very clear to you that you have escaped a life sentence by the narrowest of margins.” Photo: SYP
![Sending defendant, Harry Bramhall, to prison, Judge Graham Reeds QC said: “Groups of young men armed, or pretending to be armed, is particularly serious offending. It causes fear of violence in the minds of people.”
During a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, it was stated that at the time of the incident on March 26, 2022 the victim was in a foyer located at Park Hill flats, waiting for her son to return home.
Prosecuting barrister, Zaiban Alam, told the August 23 hearing how, as the woman was waiting, she saw three men she did not know – one of whom was later identified as Bramhall – attempt to gain access to the main door of the building, but it was locked to those outside.
“She did not open the door, and at that point this defendant reached into the waistband of his trousers and showed her a gun and said: ‘That’s what I thought’,” the barrister said.
"The complainant didn’t know if it [the gun] was real or not. The defendant’s friends motioned as if to tell the defendant to stop,” Ms Alam added.
Ms Alam said Bramhall, of Crown Place, Park Hill has a criminal record spanning 26 offences, two of which are for weapons offences, namely possession of a knife in a public place in 2018 and possession of an offensive weapon in 2014 when he was a youth.
Bramhall pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence at an earlier hearing.
Judge Reeds jailed Bramhall for 19 months](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjA4ZGEwZjcwLWQwNmUtNGYxMy1hNzU5LWYzZWFlNWViMDI2MDozZjUyZmQ4NC05M2FlLTRmOTQtOWE3NC1hZDRhYjg0NTZjMjM=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
4. Harry Bramhall: Thug who brandished imitation gun at woman at Sheffield flats claimed he was on his way to film rap video
Sending defendant, Harry Bramhall, to prison, Judge Graham Reeds QC said: “Groups of young men armed, or pretending to be armed, is particularly serious offending. It causes fear of violence in the minds of people.” During a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, it was stated that at the time of the incident on March 26, 2022 the victim was in a foyer located at Park Hill flats, waiting for her son to return home. Prosecuting barrister, Zaiban Alam, told the August 23 hearing how, as the woman was waiting, she saw three men she did not know – one of whom was later identified as Bramhall – attempt to gain access to the main door of the building, but it was locked to those outside. “She did not open the door, and at that point this defendant reached into the waistband of his trousers and showed her a gun and said: ‘That’s what I thought’,” the barrister said. "The complainant didn’t know if it [the gun] was real or not. The defendant’s friends motioned as if to tell the defendant to stop,” Ms Alam added. Ms Alam said Bramhall, of Crown Place, Park Hill has a criminal record spanning 26 offences, two of which are for weapons offences, namely possession of a knife in a public place in 2018 and possession of an offensive weapon in 2014 when he was a youth. Bramhall pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence at an earlier hearing. Judge Reeds jailed Bramhall for 19 months Photo: SYP