These are the longest sentences handed out to criminals in Sheffield this year
There have been a number of high profile court cases in Sheffield this year, ranging from murders and sexual assaults to armed gangs dealing drugs worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
By Robert Cumber
Published 2nd Sep 2021, 19:14 BST
Updated 3rd Sep 2021, 08:48 BST
Here are some of the longest sentences which have been handed out to criminals in Sheffield so far this year.
13. Emma Capper
Emma Capper was jailed in March for seven years after slashing her victim’s face with a penknife.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how the 37-year-old had forced her way into a flat on Victoria Street where her victim was visiting friends in December last year.
Detective Constable Helen Critchley, who led the investigation for South Yorkshire Police, said: “Capper knew her victim was at the address that day when she barged her way in and launched a brutal assault, hitting her victim in the face, slashing her with a penknife and leaving a huge wound on the side of her head.
"The victim's friends watched horrified as they raised the alarm with the building’s security guard and called an ambulance.”
Capper , who gave her address as the Staindrop Lodge Hotel, Sheffield, was charged with wounding with intent and pleaded guilty at a hearing on January 13. Photo: South Yorkshire Police
James Cooke was sentenced in March to six years of custody after he admitted affray, causing grievous bodily harm, causing actual bodily harm, possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear and two counts of threatening behaviour with a bladed article.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how the 27-year-old, of White Lane, near Gleadless, Sheffield, had been high on drugs when, armed with a shotgun and knives, he went on a terrifying rampage through Sheffield which only ended when he was shot by police.
He was involved in a fracas at a hotel before he assaulted a motorist, threatened a man with a large knife, attacked another man in a cafe, attacked another victim at a petrol station and terrified a woman and a man in a park.
Judge Michael Slater told Cooke: “In short, those offences represented two to three hours on the morning of August 15 when you subjected numerous complainants to threats of violence or actual violence itself in the course of committing a litany of offences across Sheffield.
"At the time you were under the influence of drugs. Your offending on that day was brought to an end by the professionalism and expertise of armed police officers who were deployed to apprehend you.”
Zaiban Alam, prosecuting, said Cooke, who was homeless, had been staying at the Hampton by Hilton Hotel, on West Bar Green, Sheffield, when he had been told he could not have another person in his room.
Ms Alam added that Cooke threw money at the manager, broke a screen, threw a plant, a bin, a sign, a computer monitor and struck a guest.
White pleaded guilty to afrray, battery, causing grievous bodily harm, causing actual bodily harm, possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear, and two offences of threatening behaviour with a bladed article. He also admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply from February 2019. Photo: South Yorkshire Police
David Bestwick was sentenced to life imprisonment in March after being found guilty of murdering 44-year-old Maria Howarth.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how the 60-year-old, of Chesterfield Road, Sheffield, had claimed to have loved Ms Howarth, who was a single mother, and he had been with her and her friends at the White Swan pub, in Greenhill, Sheffield, on September 5, 2020, before walking with her to her home on nearby School Lane, Greenhill, about midnight.
He said Bestwick had called police about four hours later, on September 6, saying he had strangled Ms Howarth.
Mr Thyne added: “He told the operator, ‘I’ve just strangled my girlfriend’. When asked why he had strangled her he answered, ‘I loved her. She didn’t want me’.”
The court heard Ms Howarth’s ten-year-old daughter had woken during the incident but she was prevented from seeing her mother by a police officer.
Judge Roger Thomas QC said Bestwick had been infatuated and had built-up a sense of rejection and resentment with Ms Howarth who had been kind to him but did not want a relationship.
Bestwick was told he must serve a minimum of 17 years before he can be released. Photo: South Yorkshire Police
Krisztian Szabo was jailed in February for eight years after slashing a Sheffield sex worker's face and brutally beating her up when she refused his sexual demands.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how he had approached the woman in the early hours during August 2019 on Rutland Road near the train station, and she got into the passenger seat of his white car.
He drove to Vale Road, near the old Ski Village, and asked her to take her shoes and socks off, before she performed a sexual act, said prosecutor Julian Jones.
But when the woman refused his request for another sexual act, Szabo began punching her in her face, head and ribs.
"She tried to shout for help and get out of the car," said Mr Jones. "She tried to dial 999."
But Szabo snatched the telephone from her and pulled a blade from his back pocket and slashed her forehead.
Szabo, 42, formerly of Shoreham Street, Sheffield, and at the time of his latest conviction residing at HMP Doncaster, was convicted of wounding with intent and having an article with a blade or point, following a trial on January 6.
Recorder Neil Mullarkey told him he took the woman to an "isolated and desolate" area where she was "incredibly vulnerable" and "no doubt terrified." Photo: The Star